FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jackie Oliveira
(Minas Gerais, Brazil) recorded a match-high 15 kills, but it
wasn't enough for the Oral Roberts University volleyball team
Friday night as they fell to #13 Oklahoma, 3-0 (30-19, 30-17,
30-19), in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Oliveira hit a team-best .565 while Ori Zuzic
(Porec, Croatia) added 10 kills and 10 digs for her 21st
double-double of the year. Zuzic ends her career with 2,304 kills
becoming the first player in school and conference history to reach
the 2,300-kill plateau.
The Sooners (27-5) advance to Saturday's second round where they
will meet Missouri State for the chance to advance to the Sweet
16.
Things went back and forth early in game one with seven ties and
three lead changes producing an 8-8 tie. OU then scored five of the
next six tallies to take a 13-9 lead. Kim Snow
(DeKalb, Ill.) later connected on a kill to keep ORU (26-9) within
18-14, but the Sooners responded with an 11-3 run to take a 29-17
lead with service for game one.
The Golden Eagles fought off OU's first two game points but
couldn't overcome the large deficit, and OU claimed a 30-19
victory. ORU hit just .167 in game one with Oliveira and Snow
combining for eight of their 12 kills.
The Golden Eagles kept things close early in game two as a
Danijela Novakovic (Rijeka, Croatia) kill pulled
them within 8-6. But the Sooners quickly regained control when a
11-2 run gave them a 19-8 advantage. ORU wouldn't get closer than
eight points the rest of the way as OU took game two, 30-17.
The Sooners controlled both sides of the net in game two,
hitting .455 as a team and holding the Golden Eagles to a mere
.043. Meanwhile, Oliveira continues to have the hot hand for ORU
totaling six kills while hitting .625.
OU led wire-to-wire again in game three, jumping out to a 7-2
advantage and never looking back. The lead grew to 12 on three
occasions as the Sooners finished the sweep with a 30-19 game three
win.
The Golden Eagles finished the night hitting just .138 as a
team, while OU connected at a .374 clip. The Sooners held a 54-38
advantage in kills and also out-blocked ORU 17.5 to six.
Thais Parada (Sao Paulo, Brazil) ended the
match with 34 assists as she set a new school single-season record
with 1,485 helpers. Snow added seven kills while hitting .312.
The Golden Eagles end the 2006 season with a 26-9 record,
winning their first Mid-Continent Conference regular season and
tournament title since 2002.
-ORU-
