Tulsa Drops 3-0 Decision to No. 25 Arkansas

Sunday, August 27

Fayetteville, Ark.

2:00 p.m.

Tulsa

1-1,0-0AAC

Arkansas

2-0,0-0SEC

Tulsa

Arkansas

Photo by: Campbell Rogerson

Tulsa Drops 3-0 Decision to No. 25 Arkansas

8/27/2023 4:37:00 PM | Volleyball

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BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

Fayetteville, Ark. — The Tulsa volleyball team tried to keep the momentum from Saturday's win over Michigan State but fell 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-19) Sunday to No. 25 Arkansas to conclude the Razorback Classic in Fayetteville. The Golden Hurricane dropped to 1-1 on the year, while the Razorbacks moved to 2-0.

Hitting efficiency was the deciding factor of Sunday's match. As a team, Tulsa had 28 kills in 99 total attacks for a .172 hitting percentage. With five more attacks on the day, Arkansas put away 48 kills for a .365 mark.

Tulsa's offense flowed through fifth-year outside hitter Kayley Cassaday, who produced 17 kills and only one error in 43 attempts. Cassaday was the only Hurricane to land more than three kills. Assisting her was senior setter Avery Kalsu, who had 20 assists and added five digs.

On the defensive end, junior libero Marta Pecalli went for a team-leading 11 digs, while junior middle blocker Tytiana Johnson led TU with three block assists.

Tulsa will return to action Sept. 1-2 to compete in the Cougar Challenge. The Hurricane will face Drake (0-3) and Northwestern State (0-3) on Friday and will take on the host, No. 21 Washington State (2-1), on Saturday.

Game Notes
» Kayley Cassaday led the court in kills (17), points (20) and total attacks (43).
» Cassaday reached a .372 hitting percentage, while the rest of the Hurricane hit for -.043
» Despite similar attack numbers (104 by Arkansas and 99 by Tulsa), the Razorbacks out-killed Tulsa 48-28.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa scored the first point of the match but could not keep the lead as the Razorback jumped ahead at 2-1 and pulled ahead from there. Arkansas's efficient hitting (.486) kept the Razorbacks ahead of TU, despite the Hurricane minimizing errors with only two throughout the stanza. Tulsa trailed by as many as seven points four times during the set before Arkansas closed out at 25-19 to go up 1-0 on Tulsa.

SET 2 | Arkansas would keep the momentum in set two, winning 25-11 to go up 2-0. Despite fighting through four tie scores early in the second set, Tulsa was unable to gain any traction as the Razorbacks continued to hit efficiently to hold the Hurricane in check. Arkansas's hitting percentage reached .500, while Tulsa was held to only .033 on seven kills and six errors in 30 attempts.

SET 3 | The Hurricane fought to keep the match alive with match highs in kills (12), attacks (37), assists (10) and digs (15), but it was not enough as Arkansas out-paced Tulsa to close out the match at 3-0 with a 25-19 performance in the third and final set.

Tulsa 19 11 19
Arkansas 25 25 25