PULLMAN, Wash. �€" The Oral Roberts University volleyball team came up on the short end of a hard fought contest test late Friday night, falling to Washington State, 3-1 (27-30, 30-25, 30-27, 30-27), in the opening round of the Baden Cougar Challenge Tournament.

Junior outside hitter Ori Zuzic (Porec, Croatia) paced the Golden Eagles (1-3) on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, totaling19 kills and 20 digs. She has now recorded a double-double in each of the teams first four matches.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after taking the first game 30-27. The Cougars (3-2) battled right back in game two, holding ORU to a mere .061 hitting percentage by forcing 12 attack errors. Washington State kept up their defensive intensity through the next two games en route to claiming their 3-1 win.

Even though the Golden Eagles held an overall 65-57 advantage in kills, the Cougars controlled the net by out-blocking ORU by a 19.5 to 5.0 margin. Washington State also forced 36 Golden Eagle attack errors in the four games, while committing a mere 19 of their own.

Freshmen Jaqueline Oliveria (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and Nicole Weis (Carrollton, Texas) had a pair of solid performances for ORU, as Oliveria chipped in with a double-double of her own (12 kills, 14 digs) and Weis added 12 kills while hitting .300 on the night.

Freshman setter Thais Parada (Sao Paulo, Brazil) finished with a match-high 53 assists.

The Golden Eagles will be back in action with a pair of matches Saturday afternoon in the final day of play at the Baden Cougar Challenge Tournament. They'll start off with a 3:00 p.m. match against Idaho before taking on Buffalo at 7:30 p.m.

Idaho topped Buffalo 3-0 on Friday in the opening match of the tournament.

--ORU--