Hurricane Falls in Three-Set Sweep to Rice

Sunday, September 24

Tulsa, Okla.

1:00 p.m.

Tulsa

8-6,1-2AAC

Rice

9-4,3-0AAC

Rice

Tulsa

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Hurricane Falls in Three-Set Sweep to Rice

9/24/2023 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa volleyball team tried to capture the momentum but was unable to keep up with (RV) Rice, falling 3-0 (28-30, 20-25, 21-25) Sunday in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The loss drops the Golden Hurricane to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while the Owls improve to 9-4 overall and 3-0 in league action.

Rice outlasted Tulsa in each of the day's three sets. Despite having similar stat lines, the Owls had four more kills and a higher hitting percentage (.246) to edge the Hurricane in each set.

Tulsa's offense was led by graduate outside hitter Kayley Cassaday, who had 18 kills at six kills per set. She also chipped in 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.

Avery Kalsu coordinated Tulsa's attack with 35 assists at 11.67 assists per set. The senior setter boosted the TU defense with 11 digs.

Leading the Hurricane's defensive effort was junior libero Marta Pecalli, who kept the ball alive with 15 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Arianna Mongare led the court with five block assists.

Tulsa will head to Denton, Texas, next week to take on North Texas (8-7, 2-0) in a two-match series on Thursday (6 p.m.) and Friday (6 p.m.).

Game Notes
» Kayley Cassaday led the court in kills (18), while Arianna Mongare led the floor in block assists (5).
» Kayley Cassaday (18 kills/12 digs) and Avery Kalsu (35 assists/11 digs) recorded double-doubles.
» Three different Hurricane had double-digit digs (Marta Pecalli (15), Kayley Cassaday (12) and Avery Kalsu (11)).
» As a team, Tulsa had a season-high in attacks in a three-set match (146).

How It Happened

SET 1 | Neither team led by more than two points until Tulsa grabbed a five-point lead at 18-13. Rice would close the gap, and the two teams would fight through eight tie scores before the Owls took advantage of a TU attack error and a kill to close out a competitive first set 30-28.

SET 2 | Tulsa scored the first point of the set, but Rice took control of the lead at 6-5 and would maintain the advantage for the rest of the stanza. The Owls led by as many as eight points (21-13) before closing out the set 25-20 to go up 2-0 on the Hurricane. Rice benefitted from 10 attack errors during the set.

SET 3 | Rice took the lead at 4-3 and cruised from there to a 25-21 third set finish to complete the 3-0 sweep over TU. Tulsa improved its hitting percentage to a match-best .222, but it wasn't enough to keep up with Rice's offense as the Owls put away 18 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

Tulsa               28        20        21
(RV) Rice         30        25        25