Hurricane Volleyball Storms Out to 3-0 Sweep Over Northwestern State

Friday, September 1

Pullman, Wash.

7:00 p.m.

Tulsa

2-2,0-0AAC

Northwestern State

0-6,0-0Southland

Tulsa

Northwestern St.

Photo by: Walt Beazley

Hurricane Volleyball Storms Out to 3-0 Sweep Over Northwestern State

9/1/2023 9:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

SEASON STATS (PDF)

Pullman, Wash. — After a tough three-set loss to Drake (1-3) earlier in the day, the Tulsa volleyball team bounced back with a strong 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-22, 25-18) over the Northwestern State Demons Friday night at the Cougar Invitational. The win improves the Golden Hurricane to 2-2 on the year, while NSU drops to 0-6.

"I'm proud of our team for making some nice upgrades with a quick turnaround," said Head Coach Lauren Ramatowski. "Offensively, Beth Bayless did a wonderful job hitting with range and purpose. Avery [Kalsu] was able to distribute the ball nicely to get Arianna [Mongare] and Jolana [Smidlova] involved. Overall, it was a good win for us against a team who made us work defensively. We will look to make some defensive upgrades in preparation for our next match against Washington state."

Senior setter Avery Kalsu coordinated an excellent offensive attack for the Hurricane, putting up 37 assists to help three different TU players reach double digits in kills. Kalsu also added a team-leading two service aces.

Graduate hitter Kayley Cassaday did the heavy lifting from the outside slot. She knocked away 18 kills in 58 total attacks for the Hurricane. Sophomore hitters Jolana Smidlova and Beth Bayless added ten kills each and combined for 38 total attacks. Not only did Bayless match her career-high in kills, but she also added 11 digs on the night for her first career double-double.

Sophomore middle blocker Arianna Mongare was efficient in the front row. In 13 attacks, she put away eight kills with no errors on the night.

Junior libero Marta Pecalli fortified Tulsa's defense with 15 total digs, averaging five digs per set. Sophomore setter Brayden Hipp helped keep the ball alive with ten digs.

Tulsa will wrap up the Cougar Invitational tomorrow at 8 p.m. against 17^th-ranked Washington State.

Game Notes
» Hitters Kayley Cassaday and Jolana Smidlova had a near-flawless first set, posting 10 combined kills without a single error.
» Marta Pecalli led the court with 15 digs.
» Avery Kalsu had a floor-leading 37 assists.
» Beth Bayless recorded her first career double-double (10 kills and 10 digs).
» Three Hurricane notched double-digit kills (Cassaday (16), Bayless (10) and Smidlova (10)).
» Three Hurricane recorded double-digit digs (Pecalli (15), Bayless (11) and Brayden Hipp (10)).
» Arianna Mongare committed no errors on the way to knocking down eight kills in 13 attempts.
» As a team, Tulsa had season-highs in attack percentage (.294), kills (50), assists (45), and total attacks in a three-set match (126).

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa and Northwestern State exchanged leads three times before the Hurricane took the advantage at 7-6 and cruised from there to a 25-22 first-set win. TU hit efficiently in the set, posting 18 kills and only three errors in 43 attacks for a team hitting average of .349. The Hurricane kept the ball alive with 20 team digs, led by junior libero Marta Pecalli who had nine.

SET 2 | The Hurricane would prevail 25-22 in a set that featured seven tie scores and three lead changes. A kill by sophomore middle blocker Arianna Mongare gave Tulsa the lead at 20-19. TU coasted to a second-set victory from there as Kayley Cassaday (6) and Beth Bayless (4) combined for 10 kills to drive Tulsa's offense.

SET 3 | TU sealed the three-set sweep with a 25-18 performance in the third and final set. Like set one, Tulsa grabbed the lead at 7-6 and never looked back. The stanza featured match-highs of 50 attacks, 22 digs and two blocks by the Hurricane.

Tulsa                           25        25        25
Northwestern State   22        22        18