Tulsa Volleyball Travels Across Town for ORU Classic
9/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2008
Tulsa, Okla. - The University of Tulsa volleyball team competes this weekend at cross-town rival Oral Roberts at the ORU Classic beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. with a match against the host team held at the Cooper Aerobic Center.
The round-robin tournament also features North Texas and Fordham, which the Golden Hurricane will play Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m., respectively. TU enters the weekend 3-0 on the season after winning the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational last weekend, defeating Jacksonville State, Evansville and IUPUI. Oral Roberts enters the weekend 3-1 coming off a loss Tuesday night to Nebraska following a tournament win last weekend at the Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, Texas.
Tulsa is hitting a .278 attack percentage through three matches, and is led by junior outside hitter Jennifer Eichler who is averaging 3.77 kills per set and hitting at .355, and by sophomore middle hitter Hannah Stout who is averaging 3.00 kills per set and hitting at a solid .464 clip. TU's setter, sophomore Jessie Ayers, has accumulated 154 assists so far, for an average of 11.85 assists per set. Senior libero Malorey Grove set the team standard for digs with 61, or 4.69 per set, and junior middle hitter Julia Kenealy has tallied 17 total blocks on the season. The Hurricane defense is holding opponents to a .177 hitting percentage.
Oral Roberts enters the weekend hitting .240, and is led by Jackie Oliveira who is averaging 3.55 kills per set and by Joanita Souza who averages 2.42 kills per set and hits a .418 average. Setter Thais Perada has compiled 119 assists or 9.92 per set. Golden Eagle opponents are hitting .168 on the season.
North Texas (1-2) is hitting .132 on the season, and is led by Roxana Casvean who averages 2.45 kills per game and hits for a .220 average. Mean Green setter Marelle Lepmets has 95 assists for an 8.64 per game average. UNT opponents are hitting .134 against it.
Fordham (4-1) comes into the weekend hitting .222 as a team, and is led by Jenna Hart who averages 2.30 kills per set and is hitting at a .378 clip. Setter Katherine Burrell has 141 assists or 7.83 per game. The Ram defense is holding opponents to just .098 attack percentage and only 9.15 kills per game.
Live stats of this weekend's matches will be available and can be found by clicking here.
Tulsa opens its home slate Sept. 12-13 with the Tulsa Invitational, which will feature five teams in a round-robin format. TU's first match of the tournament will take place at noon Friday against Jackson State. For more information on the Tulsa Invitational, and for all news and information of Golden Hurricane volleyball, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com
