Tulsa Volleyball Goes Perfect in Tulsa Volleyball Invitational

Saturday, September 8

Reynolds Center

11:30 am

Tulsa

6-2

Northwestern State

4-4

Northwestern State

Tulsa

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Volleyball Goes Perfect in Tulsa Volleyball Invitational

9/8/2018 10:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa volleyball team (7-2) went 2-0 on the final day of its home tournament, the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational, sweeping Northwestern State (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) and defeating in-town rivals Oral Roberts, 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20).

Tulsa 3, NSU 0

The Golden Hurricane (6-2) swept Northwestern State (4-4) on the second day of the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational on Saturday morning.

Seniors Emily Thorson and Rachel Moore had hot starts to the match, ending the first set with four kills each. Mariah Pardo handled the ball well for the Hurricane, boasting 10 assists in set one. The score was tied at 20 all in the latter half of the set, but Thorson and Moore combined for four straight kills to clinch the first set, 25-23.

In the second frame, Maggie Hembree joined in the attack, adding four kills of her own on just five attempts. It would play out to be another back-and-forth battle, but Tulsa would rally from a 17-19 deficit to take the frame, 25-22.

In the final set, a 6-0 run would clinch the match for TU, 25-20. Thorson tallied another four kills in the frame on 12 attempts. Taylor Horsfall stepped up in the back row, posting six digs in the frame in crucial moments.

Moore would record a double-double in the match, accumulating 11 kills and 11 digs. Thorson finished with a team-high 12 kills and seven digs, while Horsfall wrapped up the first match of the day with a team-high 15 digs. The Golden Hurricane would finish with 44 assists, 35 of which came from the hands of Pardo.

Tulsa 3, ORU 1

In the final match of the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational, the Golden Hurricane (7-2) defeated cross-town rival Oral Roberts (3-6) in four sets. Moore recorded her second double-double of the day, tallying 11 kills and 15 digs, and was named tournament MVP.

In the first set, Moore swung with authority, slotting five kills on 10 swings for a .400 hitting percentage. Horsfall led the way defensively in the stanza, accumulating five digs in the frame. Tulsa would narrowly take the set, 25-23.

Thorson took over offensively in the second frame, totaling seven kills on 18 total attempts for a .333 hitting percentage. Pardo would again handle the ball well to the tune of 13 assists. ORU would go on to clinch the set, 25-21.

An 11-2 run in the middle of set three would be all TU needed to take the third frame handily, 25-18. After two ORU attack errors, Hembree sparked the run with a kill from Pardo. Moore would pace the Hurricane with four kills in the frame.

In the final stanza of the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational, Callie Cook made her presence felt at the net, adding four kills on six swings. Moore and Horsfall tallied five digs a piece, while Pardo recorded 12 assists. The final point of the tournament came from a kill from Cook to clinch the final set for a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament, 25-20.

As a team, Tulsa recorded 60 kills and a solid .243 hitting percentage. Pardo would finish with 46 assists, while Horsfall accumulated 25 of the team's 71 digs in the victory over the Golden Eagles.

Along with Moore, Horsfall would also be named to the all-tournament team for her efforts.

Tulsa gets the week to recuperate and charge up for the Marquette Invitational, in which the team will face Illinois State on Friday, Sept. 14 and host Marquette on Saturday, Sept. 15.

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