Hurricane Volleyball Grabs Sunday Sweep Over Tulane

Sunday, November 19

Tulsa, Okla.

1:00 p.m.

Tulsa

16-14,9-9AAC

Tulane

6-24,2-16AAC

Tulane

Tulsa

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Hurricane Volleyball Grabs Sunday Sweep Over Tulane

11/19/2023 4:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa volleyball team earned a three-set sweep (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) over the Tulane Green Wave Sunday in the final home match of the year. TU's third straight victory moved the Golden Hurricane to 16-14 on the year and equalized Tulsa at 9-9 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Green Wave dropped to 6-24 overall and 2-16 in league action.

Tulsa ends the home slate 8-4, the best finish in the Donald W. Reynolds Center since 2019 (8-4).

"It feels good," said junior middle blocker Tytiana Johnson. "I'm so happy we got the final home win for our seniors. We came out wanting to have fun and leave it all out on the court for them."

"To our loyal fans, we see you, love you, and appreciate you so much for coming out and supporting us this year," said Johnson. "You have a special place in our hearts, and you're part of the Tulsa volleyball family."

Johnson stepped big-time for the Hurricane on both sides of the ball. She hit for .500 in the match and slammed down 12 kills, four of which were unassisted kills set up by strong serving by Avery Kalsu, Arianna Mongare and Kayley Cassaday to force poor receptions by Tulane. Johnson ended the day with a team-high six blocks, including three solo blocks from the middle.

Kalsu coordinated a high-scoring offense for Tulsa, putting up 33 assists at 11 assists per set in setting up five different Hurricane attackers for success. Kalsu's setting helped TU to 15 or more kills per set. She also added a team-high 15 digs to earn her 15^th double-double of the year.

Cassaday led the Tulsa attack with 14 kills while sophomore outside hitter Beth Bayless put away 10 kills. On defense, Cassaday dug out 11 Green Wave attacks to record her 13^th double-double this season.

Tulsa will wrap up the regular season Wednesday against Charlotte (11-19, 4-14 AAC) at 1 p.m.

Game Notes
» For the first time in program history, Tulsa grabs control of the overall series with Tulane … the win moves TU to 21-20 over the Green Wave.
» Tulsa moves to 8-4 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center, the best home finish since 2019 (8-4).
» Avery Kalsu (33 assists/15 digs) and Kayley Cassaday (14 kills/11 digs) each recorded double-doubles … Kalsu now has a double-double in half of all of Tulsa's matches this season (30 matches).
» Avery Kalsu passed a 1,100 assist mark on the season … she had 33 assists Sunday to move to 1,102 total.
» Tytiana Johnson benefitted from strong serving, putting away four unassisted kills out of 12 total kills on the day … she ended the day on a .500 clip, the second-highest hitting percentage by a TU athlete this year.
» Tytiana Johnson set a career-high of three blocks solos.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa and Tulane fought through 11 tie scores and five lead changes in the most competitive set of the day. The Hurricane started shaky, as the Green Wave led by three points multiple times in the set before Tulsa closed the 13-10 deficit and knotted up the stanza at 15-15. The Hurricane broke the deadlock at 20-20 and used a 5-1 scoring run to take the first set 25-21. Beth Bayless had seven kills in the set while Avery Kalsu produced 12 assists and seven digs.

SET 2 | The Hurricane never trailed in the most dominant performance of the match. The offense landed 15 kills with only four attack errors in 29 attempts for a .379 hitting percentage in the set. Tulsa led by as many as nine points to close out the set 25-16 to go up 2-0. Avery Kalsu had 13 assists and Kayley Cassaday landed six kills.

SET 3 | TU held the momentum in set three, cruising to a 25-16 performance to seal the three-set sweep over the Green Wave. Tulsa took advantage of a 7-1 scoring run to open the set and led by as many as 11 points at 20-9 before finishing the stanza on top. Tytiana Johnson knocked away seven kills to go with two blocks in the final set of the day.

Tulsa               25        25        25
Tulane             21        16        16