Volleyball Travels to Iowa-Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge
9/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2008
Tulsa, Okla. - Coming off a Conference USA-opening win Tuesday at SMU, the University of Tulsa volleyball team travels to Iowa City, Iowa this weekend for the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge held Friday and Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Golden Hurricane opens the tournament at 4:30 p.m. Friday against DePaul, and plays Saturday at 10 a.m. versus Portland and finishes the tournament at 7 p.m. Saturday against host Iowa.
Tulsa comes into the weekend 11-1 and on an eight-match winning streak, including a 3-1 win Tuesday night at SMU. For the season, the Hurricane leads Conference USA with a .254 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle hitter Hannah Stout leads the team with a .384 hitting percentage in 38 sets, while junior outside hitter Jennifer Eichler leads the club with 164 kills at 3.42 per set. Freshman setter Rachel Vukson has 303 assists in 30 sets on the year for a 10.10 average.
Defensively, senior defender Malorey Grove leads the squad with 159 digs, or 3.31 per set, while senior libero Kelsey Wood averages 2.98 digs per set (143 total). The Hurricane blocks 2.10 attacks per set, and is led by junior middle hitter Julia Kenealy who has 51 total blocks on the season. The Golden Hurricane allows opponents a .157 hitting percentage.
Coming into the weekend, DePaul is 1-7 and hits .179, while allowing opponents a .270 percentage. Iowa is 5-4 this season, and hitting .240 as a team, and opponents hit .193 against the Hawkeyes. Portland goes into the tournament with a 2-5 record and hitting .182, while the Pilots' opponents hit .280 against them. Tulsa is 1-1 all-time versus DePaul, and this weekend's meetings against Iowa and Portland will be the program's first.
Live stats will be available via Gametracker and can be found by visiting www.TulsaHurricane.com. Tickets for the Tulsa volleyball season are available by visiting the TU Athletics Ticket office in person, by telephone at (918) 631-GO-TU or on the web at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
