TULSA,
Okla. ?€" The Oral Roberts University volleyball team got a
20-kill performance from Ori Zuzic (Porec,
Croatia) as they swept two-time defending Mid-Con champ Valparaiso,
3-0 (30-24, 30-20, 30-22), and remain undefeated in league play,
Saturday evening at the Aerobics Center. ORU improves to 14-10
all-time against Valparaiso, including wins in three of the last
four meetings.
The
Golden Eagles (21-7, 9-0) used the win to wrap up the home portion
of their 2006 schedule with a perfect 11-0 mark. It is the first
time ORU has run the table at home since going 9-0 during the 2002
season.
Zuzic?€™s effort marked her 9th 20-kill match
of the year, while she also added five digs and four service aces
on the night.
Kim Snow (DeKalb, Ill.) hit a match-high .692 with
nine kills and four blocks, making her just the 3rd
player in ORU history to record 400 career blocks. Snow has also
been on a hitting tear as of late, committing just two errors in 68
attempts over the last four matches.
The
Golden Eagles jumped ahead early in game one, using three service
aces and a pair of Zuzic kills to stake a 7-1 lead. The Crusaders
(16-10, 6-3) quickly pulled to within four points, but three more
kills from Zuzic sparked a 4-0 spurt to give the home squad some
breathing room at 18-10. ORU kept Valpo at bay the rest of the way,
never allowing them to come closer than four tallies, as they took
a 30-24 game one win.
The
Golden Eagle defense held the Crusaders to a .082 attack percentage
in game one, forcing eight errors and only allowing 12 kills.
Game
two was all about the ORU offense, as the Golden Eagles totaled 18
kills while the visitors could only muster nine of their own.
Danijela Novakovic (Rijeka, Croatia) paced the
offense with five markers and Zuzic added four kills and three
service aces in ORU?€™s 30-20 win.
The
Golden Eagles quickly squashed any idea of a Valpo comeback in game
three, as Cris Alves (Sao Caetano, Brazil) served
ORU to a 9-0 advantage that they would never relinquish. The home
side continued to roll from there, as a Zuzic kill gave them their
biggest lead of the game at 14 points, 20-6.
The
Crusaders attempted to rally late, pulling within 27-18 and later
held off ORU?€™s first four game points, but the deficit
was too large to overcome as Thais Parada (Sao
Paulo, Brazil) set up Maja Devic (Split, Croatia)
for a kill that both put an end to Valpo?€™s run and
ended the match with a 30-22 game three win.
Devic
finished the night with seven kills and four blocks, while Alves
added a team-high 16 digs.
The
Golden Eagles will step out of Mid-Con action on Tuesday night when
they visit regional rival Wichita State for a 7:00 p.m. match.
-ORU-
