Photo by: Dave Crenshaw
Preseason Practice Underway for Tulsa Volleyball
8/8/2024 12:07:00 PM | Volleyball
TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa volleyball team returned to the courts Thursday to begin preseason workouts for the 2024 season.
Lauren Ramatowski is set for her second year leading the Golden Hurricane following a second-round run in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) last year with an 18-15 overall record, the program's best since 2019.
Tulsa returns five of seven starters, nine of 11 letterwinners and 12 total players from a year ago.
Graduate student Regan Pendleton will play for Tulsa for her fifth and final season. A right-side hitter last year, Pendleton blocked and killed the ball for 164 points at a 1.55 average per set. As the most experienced player on the squad, her returning and newcomer teammates will be counting on her leadership.
Returning for her fourth season with the Hurricane is senior Marta Pecalli, who has consistently held down the libero position for the past three seasons. She holds a career average of 4.58 digs per set and has amassed over 500 digs each season. Pecalli will use her veteran experience to anchor TU's defense this season.
Another returning starter is junior middle blocker Arianna Mongare, a two-year letterwinner and last season's block leader. As one of four players to star in all 123 sets played by TU, Mongare recorded 1.61 kills per set and 0.89 blocks per frame to finish third in scoring with 283.5 points at 2.30 points per set.
Two-year letterwinner and junior outside hitter Lauren Eitler joins the Hurricane for her third season. In a defensive specialist role, Eitler helped fortify last year's defense by digging out 2.05 attacks per stanza for 252 total digs. She also brings attacking experience to the table after playing as an outside hitter in her freshman season in 2022.
Camryn Lingenbrink, the Hurricane's second-most efficient attacker and blocker from 2023 will don the blue and gold for her third season at TU. The junior middle maintained a .260 hitting percentage while averaging nearly a block per set (0.95).
Other key returning letterwinners include junior outside hitter Beth Bayless and junior setter Brayden Hipp. Bayless appeared in 118 sets and was the second-highest scorer with 334.5 points at a 2.83 average. She also killed the ball 2.66 times per set and went up for 37 total blocks. Hipp brings setting and defensive experience to the team as she produced 2.77 digs per set in 2023 and recorded 4.83 assists per frame as a freshman and one of Tulsa's primary setters in 2022.
The Hurricane welcomes three newcomers to the program. Graduate outside hitter Tatum Tornatta joins TU after a four-year career at Southern Illinois, where she earned two MVC Scholar-Athlete awards and was a 2022 All-MVC Second Team selection. Tornatta averaged 3.05 points per set (366.0), 2.72 kills per stanza (326), 0.63 digs per frame (75) and 0.58 blocks per set (70.0) for the Salukis last year.
True freshmen joining the squad this year include libero Tally Grissom (Flower Mound, Texas) and setter Brittany Bacorn (Knoxville, Iowa).
TU will kick off its 28-match season on Aug. 30, against Campbell University at the Baylor Classic. The Hurricane's first home match is against Arkansas in the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12.
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