Tulsa
Rice
Volleyball Sweeps Rice on the Road
10/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2010
Box Score |
Box Score 
HOUSTON - Using a balanced offensive attack, including 15 kills by Tyler Henderson and a career-high 11 kills from Elizabeth Kale, The University of Tulsa volleyball team swept Conference USA rival Rice, (25-15, 31-29, 30-28) Sunday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Golden Hurricane extended the nation's longest winning streak to 20 matches, improving to 21-2 overall and 11-0 in C-USA play. Rice fell to 12-11 overall and 7-4 in league play.
Tulsa won in three sets, but the match represented the slugfest that has become typical of the two programs in the last five years. Sunday's match was only the second straight-set sweep in the series since 2005, and seven sets in the last nine matches between Tulsa and Rice have gone to extra points. The 60-point second frame was the highest scoring set in a TU match since 2008 when the Owls won the fourth set, 37-35, in a 3-2 TU win in Houston.
"I was really pleased with El Kale's performance, getting a career-high 11 kills," Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. "Kellie Culbertson is a real sparkplug. She came in and got three kills in the third set, and she passed very well. Tyler Henderson was efficient as she always is. We (as a team) played very tough defense and passed very well all day."
In perhaps her best offensive performance of the freshman Kale's season, she recorded double-digit kills for the first time, hitting .450 in the process. Jordan Clampitt and Diana Silva each recorded double-doubles, as Clampitt tallied 48 assists and 13 digs, and Silva had 12 kills and 17 digs. Hannah Stout and Kelsey Hancock each tallied seven kills. Kellie Culbertson and Jessica Adams added 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
Tulsa hit .271 as a team (55-17-140) with 55 kills, 51 assists, two service aces, 67 digs and 4.0 blocks. Rice hit .186 in the match (46-20-140) with 46 kills, 45 assists, one ace, 64 digs and 10.0 blocks.
Tulsa started the match with a dominant first set, taking a, 3-0, lead it would not lose. The Hurricane's lead grew to, 9-1, with a 6-0 run. The lead grew to 10 points at, 13-3, and that was the margin of victory, as TU cruised on to win the first set, 25-15.
The second and thirds sets were a much different story, as both went into extra points. The second set featured 12 ties and eight lead changes. The Golden Hurricane took the largest lead of the set - three points - as late as, 22-19, but Rice forced a, 24-24, tie. The teams traded points until the score was, 29-29, when an Owl attack error and a block by Culbertson and Kale gave TU the, 32-29, set win.
The third set featured 13 tie scores with four lead changes. After a back-and-forth beginning, Tulsa took a five-point lead at, 15-10, but Rice came back to take the lead at, 19-17. The Golden Hurricane pulled to a tie at, 24-24, with the 24th point coming as a block by Stout. The Hurricane fought off three more Owl set points and finally took a, 28-27, lead with a Kale kill. After a kill by Rice, Henderson and Culbertson came through with the final two kills to give TU the, 30-28, set win.
The Golden Hurricane returns home for two straight conference weekends when it plays host to UTEP Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., and UCF Sunday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m.
For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. Follow Tulsa Volleyball on twitter (www.twitter.com/TulsaVolleyball) and facebook (www.facebook.com/TulsaVolleyball).
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