Tulsa Volleyball Earns Three-Set Sweep Over Oral Roberts in Home Opener

Thursday, September 7

Tulsa, Okla.

6:30 p.m.

Tulsa

3-3,0-0AAC

Oral Roberts

2-5,0-0Summit League

Oral Roberts

Tulsa

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Volleyball Earns Three-Set Sweep Over Oral Roberts in Home Opener

9/7/2023 9:51:00 PM | Volleyball

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BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

Tulsa, Okla. — The Tulsa volleyball team opened the Tulsa Invitational on a strong note Thursday, earning the 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-13) sweep over the cross-town rival Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Golden Hurricane jumps to 3-3 on the year, while ORU falls to 2-5.

"It really means a lot that we got to win on our first home game for Coach Ram," said senior setter Avery Kalsu. "It's exciting to get the first home win of the season."

Kalsu led the charge with 36 assists on the night, averaging 12 assists per set. She also picked up 11 digs for her second double-double of the season.

Tulsa slipped early on the match, trailing by as many as six points at 17-11 in the first set. Kalsu and the TU offense erased the deficit and rode the momentum from there for a set-one win. The Hurricane never gave up the lead following its first-set comeback.

"I think we were able to stay really calm during that time," said Kalsu. "We relied on our confidence to pull us out of that hole."

The Tulsa defense had one of its best performances of the season led by TU's front row, who had nine total blocks while holding ORU to zero. Sophomore middle blocker Camryn Lingenbrink led the court with a career-high four block assists.

Limiting ORU's scoring opportunities was junior libero Marta Pecalli. She had 23 digs on the night at an average of 7.67 digs per set. Sophomore setter Brayden Hipp chipped in 10 digs and graduate outside hitter Kayley Cassaday had eight. Cassaday also put up a .304 hitting percentage and a season-high 18 kills.

The Hurricane will continue the Tulsa Invitational in the Reynolds Center tomorrow at 7 p.m. against the undefeated UT Arlington Mavericks (6-0).

Game Notes
» Marta Pecalli recorded nine digs in the first set alone. On the night, she averaged 7.67 digs per set.
» Beth Bayless landed 10 kills in 34 attacks without a single attack error.
» Avery Kalsu had a floor-leading 36 assists, averaging 12 assists per set.
» The Tulsa defense allowed a season-low 33 kills, 31 assists and a .113 hitting percentage by the Golden Eagles.
» Tulsa had season-highs in attack percentage (.311), digs (69) and total attacks (132) in a three-set match.
» TU has been victorious in the last 14 matchups against ORU.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa found itself in a hole early in the first set, trailing by as many as six points at 17-11. TU came back to take the lead at 20-19 and cruised from there to a set one victory. Marta Pecalli had nine digs in the stanza to go with four block assists from Camryn Lingenbrink.

SET 2 | The Hurricane carried the momentum in the second as Tulsa never gave up the lead once in a 25-18 performance to go up 2-0 on ORU. Kayley Cassaday stepped up in the attack with seven kills in 20 total attempts, while Arianna Mongare kept the Eagles' offense in check with two block assists.

SET 3 | Tulsa capped off the night with a dominant 25-13 performance in the third set to complete the sweep over Oral Roberts. The Hurricane led by as many as 13 points at 23-10 before closing out the set. Tulsa forced seven ORU attack errors in the stanza.

Tulsa   25        25        25
Oral Roberts   20        18        13