Tulsa
1-0
Pepperdine
0-1
Golden Hurricane Start 2019 Campaign by Splitting Competition at North Texas Invite
8/30/2019 8:13:00 PM | Volleyball
DENTON, Texas – The University of Tulsa volleyball team opened the 2019 campaign on Friday by splitting competition at the North Texas Invite. The Golden Hurricane (1-1 Overall) started the season off defeating Pepperdine (0-2) in a five-set thriller, 3-2, before falling to Illinois State (2-0) later in the day in four sets, 1-3.
The two-day invitational, which is hosted by North Texas at the North Texas Volleyball Center will conclude on Saturday, as the Golden Hurricane and Mean Green (1-1) take to the court for the first time since last season's National Invitational Volleyball Championship opening round. The contest is slated for a 12:30 p.m. start.
Box Score
Game 1: Tulsa 3, Pepperdine 2
Tulsa started the season off by defeating Pepperdine in a five-set thriller, 26-24,18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-11. The Wave entered the season among teams who "also received votes" in the AVCA Division I preseason poll. The match was also the first meeting between the two programs.
Taylor Horsfall climbed into the record books again, as she led all players with 37 digs. She now holds four individual match records for digs at Tulsa.
Dilara Gedikoglu finished with her first double-double of the season, leading the Golden Hurricane with 20 kills and chipping in 13 digs. Hannah Overmyer also recorded a double-double, recording 13 kills and 11 digs.
Roosa Rautio tallied 28 assists, followed by Mariah Pardo with 25.
Maddie Rhoder led the Golden Hurricane with six block assists, followed by Callie Cook with four and Kayley Cassaday with three.
Pepperdine had the advantage in kills, 66-58, in assists, 66-55, and digs, 91-58. The Wave edged the Golden Hurricane in blocks, 11-8, but Tulsa led 5-3 in service aces.
Box Score
Game 2: Illinois State 3, Tulsa 1 [19-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16]
Following a 7-7 tie in the opening set, Tulsa would go on a 7-0 run to go on top, 14-7. Illinois State would come to within two points on two occasions (15-13, 19-17). But that's as close as the Redbirds came, as the Golden Hurricane took six of the final eight points, including the last four to take set one.
TU finished the opening set with a .393 attacking percentage. Freshman Dilara Gedikoglu led Tulsa with four kills on seven total attacks in the opening set.
Illinois State jumped out to a 10-5 advantage early in the second set, but the Golden Hurricane used an 11-8 run to trim the Redbirds lead to two points at 18-16 and 21-19.
The Redbirds would have the upper hand in the third set, but the Golden Hurricane once again fought back to knot the contest. Trailing by as much as four points on two occasions, TU tied the third set at 14-14 and 15-15. Tulsa would later come within a point at 21-20, but Illinois State would score four of the final five points in the frame.
Like every other set, the fourth period was just as tight. Neither team led by more than two points until 13-10 in favor of Illinois State. The Redbirds ended the match on a 7-2 run.
Tulsa ended the match with a .203 clip, while Illinois State had a .273 attacking percentage. The Golden Hurricane were edged in assists, 48-44, in service aces, 6-5, and total blocks, 8-6. Both teams had 10 block assists apiece. The Redbirds totaled 55 digs to TU's 45.
Gedikoglu finished the match with a team-high 12 kills. Sophomore Roosa Rautio led the way with 24 assists, while Mariah Pardo came off the bench and added 17. Taylor Horsfall chipped in 13 digs, while tallying two service aces. Freshman Kayley Cassaday had four block assists.
