Golden Hurricane Goes 1-1 to Conclude Tulsa Volleyball Invitational

Friday, September 13

Tulsa, Okla.

11:00 a.m.

Tulsa

8-1,0-0AAC

Stephen F. Austin

5-4,0-0Southland

SFA

Tulsa

Photo by: Joshua Rogers

Golden Hurricane Goes 1-1 to Conclude Tulsa Volleyball Invitational

9/13/2024 11:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

SFA BOX SCORE (PDF) | OKLAHOMA BOX SCORE (PDF) | SEASON STATS (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa volleyball team split the final day of the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational Friday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17) winner over Stephen F. Austin (5-5) and a 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 15-25, 22-25, 11-15) reverse-sweep heartbreaker to Oklahoma (5-1). The Golden Hurricane ends the week with an 8-2 overall record and is the first team in the American Athletic Conference to reach eight wins.

Senior libero Marta Pecalli and graduate outside hitter Tatum Tornatta were named to the all-tournament team following three strong performances in the tournament. Pecalli averaged 4.16 digs per set for 59 total digs, while Tornatta had 34 kills at 2.83 per set to finish as TU's leading scorer.

Tulsa will face No. 11 Kansas (6-0) on Friday, Sept. 20, and No. 7 Purdue (7-0) on Saturday, Sept. 21, in the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, Kan next week to conclude nonconference play.

-- Tulsa 3, Stephen F. Austin 1 --

Match Notes

Tulsa tied the all-time series with SFA at 6-6 with the win and snapped a four-match losing streak to the Ladyjacks dating to 2017.
Four TU players had double-figures in digs and three had 10 or more kills.
MB Arianna Mongare led the scoring effort with 16 points off of 11 kills, six block assists and two block solos.
S Brayden Hipp (20 assists/14 digs) produced her sixth double-double of the season and 11^th of her career.
S Brittany Bacorn (17 assists/17 digs) got her second-ever double-double … her 17 digs are a career-high.
OH Lauren Eitler fortified the front row with a career-high seven blocks, all assists.
Tulsa out-blocked SFA 13-9.

How It Happened

SET 1 | OH Lauren Eitler got the ball rolling with a kill in the opening rally, but it didn't jumpstart the Hurricane as SFA jumped out to an 8-3 lead and never lost control of the set. The Ladyjacks utilized multiple three and four-point scoring runs to lead by six at various stages of the frame, taking the first set 25-19. Tulsa was held to just .100 hitting in the only set loss of the day.

SET 2 | Set two was the most competitive of the day as there were 11 total tie scores and seven lead changes. Neither team could gain an edge over the other until TU took an 11-8 lead. From there, SFA outscored Tulsa 8-4, fueled by a 6-0 scoring run to take a 16-15 lead over the Hurricane. Tulsa then won three rallies in a row to take back the lead and cruise to a 25-22 finish to make it a 1-1 match. OH Lauren Eitler had six digs in the stanza.

SET 3 | The third set was all Tulsa as the Hurricane scored first off an SFA attack error and never allowed the Ladyjacks to tie or take the lead. TU started the stanza 6-1 and rode the momentum from there to take a 2-1 match lead with a 25-16 set three. Tatum Tornatta had five kills and the Hurricane benefitted from 11 attack errors, five of which resulted from Tulsa blocks.

SET 4 | Tulsa kept the pedal to the medal in the fourth and final frame, winning the first six rallies with three kills, two aces and one attack error with S Brittany Bacorn at the serve. The Hurricane led by as many as 10 points at 20-10 before closing out the set 25-17 and winning the match 3-1.

Tulsa 19 25 25 25 - 3
SFA 25 22 16 17 - 1

-- Oklahoma 3, Tulsa 2 --

Match Notes

For the second year in a row, Oklahoma pulled off the reverse sweep over Tulsa … the first three set scores (25-21, 25-19 and 25-15) matched the first three set scores from the meeting between the two teams a year ago … OU remains in control of the series 36-2.
OU had a .312 hitting day versus Tulsa's .167 mark … Tulsa attackers ran out of steam against a surging Sooner defense, suffering 20 blocks on the night.
Both teams had exactly 65 digs.
OH Tatum Tornatta led Tulsa scorers with 14.5 points resulting from 13 kills, one block solo and one block assist.
S Brayden Hipp (26 assists/11 digs) nabbed her seventh double-double this year and 12^th of her career.
OH Regan Pendleton had a career-high of two service aces.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Tulsa never trailed in the opening set, opening the match with a 5-1 scoring run fueled by four kills. The Hurricane led by as many as seven points at 20-13 before finished 25-21 for the opening advantage. Both teams hit over .350 and S Brayden Hipp had eight assists.

SET 2 | Although Oklahoma was able to tie it up six times in the second set, Tulsa never lost the lead. TU broke the final deadlock at 13-13 and cruised from there. The Hurricane led by seven at 22-15 before winning the frame 25-19 and taking 2-0 lead in the match. S Brayden Hipp and OH Regan Pendleton each had five digs as Tulsa out-killed and out-hit Oklahoma with 15 kills and a .209 hitting mark.

SET 3 | Oklahoma flipped a switch in the third set as the Sooners scored first and never looked back on the way to avoiding the sweep with a 25-15 performance. OU opened the set with a 4-0 run and benefitted from multiple scoring runs throughout the set to hold off the Hurricane. TU was held to just .027 hitting and couldn't find a rhythm on offense.

SET 4 | Set four was tightly contested as the score was tied 13 times and the lead was exchanged on seven occasions. Neither team could lead by more than a point until the Sooners moved ahead by three at 15-12 heading into the media break. Although Tulsa was able to knot it back up at 18-18, Oklahoma wouldn't be rattled as they killed the ball six times on the way to closing the set 25-22 to send the match to a fifth set. OU finished with 19 kills in the set.

SET 5 | It was a tight race to 15 points in the final frame as the two squads fought through 10 ties. At 10 points apiece, heroic attacks by Oklahoma's Alexis Shelton and Lydia Martyn fueled the Sooners' 5-1 run to win 15-11 and complete the reverse sweep for the 3-2 victory in Tulsa.

Tulsa 25 25 15 22 11 - 2
Oklahoma 21 19 25 25 25 - 3

All-Tournament Team:
Alexis Shelton, PIN, Oklahoma (MVP)
Lydia Martyn, MB, Oklahoma
Kari Geissberger, PIN, Oklahoma
Tatum Tornatta, OH, Tulsa
Marta Pecalli, L, Tulsa
Romani Thurman, OH, Arkansas
Hannah Hogue, S, Arkansas
Camryn Hill, OH, Stephen F. Austin