LAS VEGAS, Nev. ?€" The Oral Roberts University volleyball team dropped a heart breaking match Saturday night, as Cal Poly rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2 (30-32, 30-28, 29-31, 30-22, 15-12) victory in both teams final action at the UNLV Classic.

Ori Zuzic (Porec, Croatia) led all players with 28 kills, but no other ORU (0-3) player reached double figures as the Mustangs (3-0) limited them to a team attack percentage of .183 for the match. Zuzic added 21 digs for her third double-double in as many matches.

The Golden Eagles struck first in game one, taking a hard fought 32-30 decision. ORU trailed early on by a 6-2 margin, but battle back with a 15-6 run as a Zuzic kill gave them a 17-12 advantage. A seesaw battle ensued before a Daniela Novakovic (Rijeka, Croatia) kill tied the game at 30-30, as the Golden Eagles scored the game's final three tallies for the 32-30 win.

After Cal Poly knotted the match at one game apiece, they jumped ahead again early in game three staking a 12-6 advantage. But ORU refused to go away, as they slowly crawled their way back into the game and a Brittany Arnold (Tulsa, Okla.) kill tied the game at 28-28. The Mustangs again had game point at 29-28, but a pair of errors and a Zuzic kill gave the Golden Eagles a 31-29 win and a two games to one lead.

A 30-22 game four victory by Cal Poly tied the match at 2-2 and forced a decisive game five. The two teams went back and forth again in the final set as three lead changes and four ties brought about an early 5-5 tie. Cal Poly then used an 8-2 spurt to gain some breathing room with a 13-7 lead, but ORU would close to within 13-12 after a 5-0 run of their own.

That was as close as they would get, however, as the Mustangs got a pair of kills from Alicia Waller for the 15-12 win and 3-2 match victory.

Kylie Atherstone led Cal Poly with 25 kills to go along with 11 digs while Waller added a double-double (18 kills, 14 digs) of her own. Cris Alves (Sao Caetano, Brazil) recorded 25 digs for the Golden Eagles and Thais Parada (Sao Paulo, Brazil) used 12 digs and 62 assists to register her first double-double of the year.

The Golden Eagles also dropped their first match of the day, as a late rally fell short in a 3-1 (30-27, 30-16, 32-34, 30-25) loss to tournament host UNLV. Zuzic led the way for ORU against the Lady Rebels (1-1), with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Alves contributed a match-high 25 digs.

UNLV's Jennifer Johnson led all players with 21 markers as three other Lady Rebels also reached the 10-kill plateau.

ORU will return to action the Wednesday, as they travel cross-town to face rival Tulsa in a 7:00 p.m. match.

--ORU--