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Tulsa
Stephen F. Austin
Volleyball Defeats Stephen F. Austin, 3-2
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2009
Box Score |
Box Score 
TULSA, Okla. - Freshman Tyler Henderson smashed a career-high 26 kills and hit .489 in the match to lead The University of Tulsa volleyball team to a 3-2 defeat of Stephen F. Austin in the Radisson Tulsa Airport Invitational Friday evening at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
The Golden Hurricane plays twice Saturday, at 12:30 p.m. against Gonzaga, and at 7 p.m. against Texas Tech.
Henderson set another career high, which she had just created Tuesday when she had 19, with her 26 kills and .489 attack percentage. Senior Jennifer Eichler recorded 17 kills and hit .342, and junior Hannah Stout had 12 kills and hit a .379 percentage.
Tulsa hit .292 (69-22-161) with 68 assists, 76 digs and four blocks. The Hurricane held Stephen F. Austin to a .179 attack percentage (55-26-162) and 48 assists and 55 digs, and the Lady Jacks had 10 blocks.
Defensively, freshman Jessica Adams also set another career high with 26 digs. Her previous high was also set on Tuesday when she had 24 digs. Eichler also had 13 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Freshman Jordan Clampitt had a double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs - her second of the season. Sophomore setter Rachel Vukson contributed 37 assists in the match.
"We got another great performance from Hannah Stout. We also saw Tyler Henderson take some steps forward offensively, in hitting almost .500 in the match," Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. "We feel like we have to get a lot better defensively and that effort has to be at the net to begin with. Our ability to string multiple points together has to get better. Ultimately, if our defense gets better, we are going to string points together. That's what got us in trouble in this match - playing one point at a time in Set Two, and allowing Stephen F. Austin to develop some momentum."
The Golden Hurricane averaged 65 percent sideout throughout the match, including 80 percent (8-of-10) in the first set and 76 percent in the fifth set. In the first set, TU also hit a .552 team attack percentage.
"On another positive note, we are continuing to sideout at an extremely comfortable and rapid pace," said Allen. "We are averaging almost 65 percent in sideout efficiency, which is going to give your team a chance to win almost every set."
Tulsa dominated the opening set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, and essentially making a 25-9 run throughout the set. At one point, the Hurricane ran eight consecutive points with Kelsey Hancock at the serve, where she hit two aces in a row. TU made only one hitting error, Henderson had six kills and Eichler had four, while Adams had a whopping nine digs in the set. TU won easily, 25-9
Set Two was a completely different story with 15 ties and three lead changes. The set progressed point-by-point, and only six times did either team hold a two-point lead, and one of those was at the end, when SFA closed the set with a 5-1 burst. The Lady Jacks, on one occasion, served three consecutive times, but often during the frame, service lasted only one rally. SFA won the set, 25-21
Stephen F. Austin won the third set coming out of intermission to put Tulsa on the ropes. The set featured nine ties and the lead changed hands six times. The Lady Jacks scored the first two points, but TU scored three in a row to take the lead. SFA regained the lead, and held a 12-10 advantage until the Hurricane scored six of eight to move ahead, 16-14. Tulsa led, 21-20, before SFA again ran 5-1 to close the set, 25-22.
Tulsa reclaimed a big win in the fourth set, but the nine-point spread did not come until late. Stephen F. Austin scored two to begin, and once again, TU came back to tie. The Lady Jacks had a 6-4 lead, and the home team turned out a 7-2 run to jump ahead, 11-8. Amid the back-and-forth play, SFA regained the lead at 15-14, but Tulsa used a big run of 11 points to four, to win the set, 25-16, and force the deciding frame.
The second five-setter of the Hurricane's season ended on a better note than its first experience going the distance in a match. With four kills by TU and several SFA errors, Tulsa took an 8-5 lead and the teams switched sides. From that point, each team scored seven points. With the score knotted at 12 apiece, Tulsa used kills from Stout, Henderson and Stout again, to win the set, 15-12 and close out the match.
Matches on Saturday begin at 10 a.m., and run at 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Admission to all home TU volleyball matches is free. Once again, after its matches, the Hurricane players and coaches will sign autographs as part of the Golden Hurricane Youth Volleyball Weekend.
For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook - search "Tulsa Golden Hurricane."
