Tulsa Volleyball Season Comes to an End in the Second Round of the NIVC

Friday, December 1

Wichita, Kan.

1:30 p.m.

Tulsa

18-15,10-9AAC

Wichita State

23-8,15-4AAC

Tulsa

Wichita St.

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Volleyball Season Comes to an End in the Second Round of the NIVC

12/1/2023 4:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

WICHITA, Kan. — The Tulsa volleyball team fought hard against a tough Wichita State squad but fell 3-1 (12-25, 25-15, 16-25, 21-25) Friday in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), bringing Tulsa's 2023 season to a close. The Golden Hurricane end the year with an overall mark of 18-15.

Efficient hitting and team digs were key factors in Tulsa's second-ever match in the NIVC second round. Wichita State won the kill battle 54-48 while hitting for .278 and holding Tulsa to .124. Both teams had four athletes register double-figures in digs, but it was the Shockers (79) who finished the day with ten more digs than Tulsa (69).

Outside hitter Kayley Cassaday led the team with 17 kills on the day to go with 10 digs. Middle blocker Arianna Mongare finished with nine kills while outside hitter Beth Bayless had seven.

Avery Kalsu assisted five Tulsa attackers on the way to finishing with 35 assists at an 8.75 average. She also added 14 digs on defense, finishing the season with her 18^th double-double.

Libero Marta Pecalli and defensive specialist/setter Brayden Hipp were all over the court on defense as Pecalli led the team with 21 digs and Hipp finished with ten.

Tytiana Johnson led all blockers with three blocks, all assists. Arianna Mongare, Bayless and Cassaday each had two block assists.

Match Notes
» Tulsa has played in eight NIVC matches in program history … all have ended in 3-1 decisions, including Friday's loss to Wichita State.
» Avery Kalsu (35 assists/14 digs) and Kayley Cassaday (17 kills/10 digs) each had a double-double.
» Kayley Cassaday led the floor with 17 kills while Marta Pecalli led the court with 21 digs.
» Tulsa had four players reach double-digit digs (Marta Pecalli (21), Avery Kalsu (14), Kayley Cassaday (10) and Brayden Hipp (10)).
» Avery Kalsu passed the 1,200-assist mark … she finished with 1,210 on the year.
» TU never trailed nor allowed a tie score in the 25-15 set two win.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa and Wichita State battled through five tie scores and two lead changes to open the first set. The Shockers took control at 8-7 and outscored the Hurricane 17-3 to run away with the first set 25-12. TU was held to a .-062 hitting percentage in the set.

SET 2 | The momentum switched sides in set two as Tulsa would score the first point and never let up in a 25-15 decision that knotted up the match 1-1. The Hurricane led by as many as 11 points at 24-13 before closing out the set. Tulsa had a match-high .312 hitting percentage and relied on eight assists from Avery Kalsu and five digs from Marta Pecalli to win the frame.

SET 3 | Six tie scores and two lead changes highlighted the most competitive set of the day. Neither team led by more than a point until Wichita State broke the 7-7 deadlock and never looked back on the way to a 25-16 performance to go up 2-1 on Tulsa. Avery Kalsu had 12 assists and six digs in the set.

SET 4 | In the fourth and final set of the match, Tulsa scored the first point off a Kayley Cassaday kill but the Shockers took back the advantage at 4-3 and never trailed again. Wichita State led by as many as six points at 17-11 before Tulsa was able to use a 6-1 scoring run to bring it back to within one at 18-17. The unphased Shockers maintained the lead, however, and finished the set 25-21 to seal away the match at 3-1. Kayley fought back with nine kills in the set, all assisted by Avery Kalsu.

Tulsa 12 25 16 21
Wichita State 25 15 25 25