Tulsa Volleyball Defeats Charlotte 3-1 for Fourth Straight Win to End Regular Season

Wednesday, November 22

Charlotte, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

Tulsa

17-14,10-9AAC

Charlotte

11-20,4-15AAC

Tulsa

Charlotte

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Volleyball Defeats Charlotte 3-1 for Fourth Straight Win to End Regular Season

11/22/2023 5:48:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Tulsa volleyball team entered the Halton Arena in Charlotte looking to close out the regular season with its fourth consecutive victory and finish with a winning record in conference play. The Golden Hurricane did just that, pulling out a 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20) decision over the Charlotte 49ers (11-20, 4-15 AAC) Wednesday.

TU finishes 17-14 overall and 10-9 in American Athletic Conference play, its best finish to a conference season and first winning record since 2018 (11-7).

"Our team has continued to grow every week this season," said Head Coach Lauren Ramatowski. "We talk a lot about joy and growth and being present in the moment. Every day they come in to practice with so much joy for the game, for our program and for improving every day. Their commitment to joy and growth is evident in our success late in the season."

Despite being held to .135 and .149 hitting percentages while committing 13 total attack errors in the second and third sets, the Hurricane found more openings on the court with 61 team kills to Charlotte's 54. Tulsa also won the dig battle 92-84.

"I'm proud of our girls for staying patient and composed against a team who played some really nice defense against us," said Ramatowski. "Charlotte challenged us to hit with range, and I felt like we were able to find some success with Tytiana Johnson in the middle which allowed our pins to find seams."

Senior setter Avery Kalsu set up five Tulsa attackers for success, including three who reached double-figures in kills. She produced 38 assists at an average of 9.5 assists per set and put away five kills of her own. Kalsu also stepped up on defense with 18 digs for her 16^th double-double of the season.

Graduate outside hitter Kayley Cassaday led the TU attack with 17 kills at 4.25 kills per set. Following was junior middle blocker Tytiana Johnson with 13 kills and sophomore outside hitter Beth Bayless with 11.

Cassaday had 15 digs on defense to earn her 14^th double-double and finish as one of four defenders with double-digit digs. The others were junior libero Marta Pecalli, who led the team with 21 digs, Kalsu with 18 and sophomore defensive specialist/setter Brayden Hipp with 12.

Pecalli put up 10 assists on offense, earning her second double-double of the year and first since her 18-dig and 11-assist performance at Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 15).

Leading the front-row blockers for a second week in a row was Johnson, who had three block assists to go with a block solo.

The NCAA selection show will kick off on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT. The National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) field and bracket will be announced following the conclusion of the NCAA selection show.

Game Notes
» Marta Pecalli (21 digs/10 assists), Avery Kalsu (38 assists/18 digs) and Kayley Cassaday (17 kills/15 digs) all had double-doubles.
» Tulsa ends the year 10-9 in AAC play, the best finish to a conference season since 2018 (11-7).
» TU won the kill battle 61-54 and the dig battle 92-84.
» Regan Pendleton tied her career-high of nine kills.
» As a team, Tulsa set season-highs of attacks (189) and digs (92) in a four-set match.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa took the lead at 3-2 and jumped out to a 17-10 advantage to open the first set. The 49ers were able to shrink the deficit, but it wasn't enough to phase the Hurricane on the way to its 25-21 finish to secure the first match point. Avery Kalsu had 11 assists and six digs in the set.

SET 2 | The Hurricane took an initial 8-2 lead to open set two. Charlotte would close the gap and tie up the set 11-11 midway through the stanza. From there, both teams battled through four tie scores before the 49ers took the lead at 16-15 and never trailed again, cruising to a 25-19 performance to tie up the match 1-1. Tulsa was held to a match-low .135 hitting percentage while 18 of Charlotte's 25 points came from kills. Marta Pecalli registered eight digs in the set.

SET 3 | 14 tie scores and five lead changes highlighted a competitive third set. Neither team led by more than two points until the Hurricane broke the 15-15 and never gave up the lead again on the way to a 25-23 finish. Beth Bayless led all attackers with five kills while eight different Hurricane recorded a dig in the set.

SET 4 | TU kept the momentum in its best set performance of the match. The Hurricane erased deficits at 10-7 and 17-14, took the lead at 18-17 and rode to a 25-20 finish to seal the match at 3-1. Avery Kalsu put up 12 assists in helping Tulsa reach .289 in the set while Marta Pecalli had eight digs.

Tulsa                           25        19        25        25
Charlotte                    21        25        23        20