First-Place Tulsa Hosts Rice Friday, Plays at Tulane Sunday

TULSA, Okla. — The first-place Tulsa volleyball team is set to host second-place Rice in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for a battle of top-two American Athletic Conference teams Friday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. Then, the Golden Hurricane will play Tulane in New Orleans Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m.

Tulsa's matches will stream on ESPN+. Fans unable to attend the action in person can subscribe to ESPN+ to watch select Golden Hurricane volleyball, soccer, football, tennis, soccer, softball and basketball games. ESPN+ is offered at $10.99/month or $109.99/year. To subscribe, go to plus.espn.com. Fans will be able to access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed.

This will be Tulsa's 41st meeting with Rice in a series that dates back to the 1984 season. Rice leads the series 22-18, and Tulsa is 9-11 when hosting the Owls. Tulsa's seven-match win streak against Rice was snapped when the Owls grabbed 3-2 and 3-0 wins at TU last season.

Rice, the 2024 AAC preseason favorite, is 7-4 on the year and 2-0 to start conference play. Last time out, the Owls escaped Tulane on the road, 3-2, and swept UTSA at home.

Cindy Tchouangwa and Savannah Skopal have led the offense through five weeks of the season. Tchouangwa is third in the league with 3.4 kills per set, and Skopal averages 9.28 assists with 371 total assists - the third-highest marks in the league.

Rice has found a balance on both sides of the ball as the Owls leads The American with 36.35 attacks per set and ranks second for digs per set (16.50) and third for kills per set (13.13) and assists per set (12.10).

Sunday marks the 42nd meeting between Tulsa and Tulane in a series that the Hurricane leads 21-20. Tulsa captured the series lead for the first time over Tulane after beating the Green Wave in 3-1 and 3-0 decisions in the home finale last season.

Tulsa is currently rocking a four-match winning streak against the Green Wave heading into Sunday's contest, and the Hurricane is 7-9 when facing the Green Wave in New Orleans.

Tulane is 9-6 overall and 1-2 in league action. Last time out, the Green Wave took 3-2 and 3-0 losses to Rice and North Texas, respectively, before grabbing their first conference win over UAB, 3-0.

Sabrina Skyers leads The American in total blocks (59) and Sami Jacobs leads with 24 service aces. The Green Wave hits for .227 as a group, the second-highest effort among all AAC programs.

Senior libero Marta Pecalli continues to have a strong defensive start for her final year with the Golden Hurricane. Through five weeks, Pecalli ranks first in the league for digs per set (4.71) and total digs (240) and fourth for service aces (20). Freshman setter Brittany Bacorn also has 20 aces for sixth in the AAC.

Junior setter Brayden Hipp is seventh in the league with 311 assists and 6.10 assists per set.

Second in the conference for hitting is senior middle blocker Tytiana Johnson, who boasts a .419 hitting percentage and also ranks fifth for total blocks (51) and seventh for blocks per set (1.06).

Tulsa is 23rd in Division I and first in The American for team digs per set (16.88).

First-Place Tulsa Hosts Rice Friday, Plays at Tulane Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Brittany Bacorn

Brayden Hipp

Marta Pecalli