Women's Volleyball 11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM

ORU Spikers Advance To Summit League Championship After Defeating IPFW, 3-1, Friday

TULSA, Okla. – Senior rightside hitter Jackie Oliveira (Minas Gerais, Brazil) led the second-seeded Oral Roberts volleyball team to a 3-1 victory (25-12, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23) over third-seeded IPFW Friday evening in the Cooper Aerobics Center on the ORU campus.

The Golden Eagles are now 22-8 overall, while IPFW finishes the season with a 16-14 record.

Oliveira posted a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs, while senior setter Thais Parada (Sao Paulo, Brazil) registered a double-double with match-highs of 46 assists and 16 digs. Three other Golden Eagles record double-digit kills, as senior outside hitter Danijela Novakovic (Rijeka, Croatia) and sophomore middle hitter Jocelyn Swier (Ripon, Calif.) each chipped in 11, while senior middle blocker JoJo Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) added 10. Senior outside hitter Janete Ferreira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) smashed a season-high four service aces.

IPFW was led by Rebekah Roehm's match-high 17 kills, while Mayara Schlindwein hit a match-high .458 and added 12 kills. Jessica Dominiak tallied 35 assists for the Mastadons and Ashley Dillon added a team-high 13 digs.

Ferreira started off the first set for the Golden Eagles with three-straight service aces to give ORU a 4-0 lead. Souza added two kills while Swier and Oliveira led the attack to take ORU up 8-5. Oliveira tacked on two kills to push the lead to 11-6. The Golden Eagles rode the serve of sophomore libero Cassidy Holmes (Tulsa, Okla.) for the next eight points, while Souza and Swier took the last four points on serves and kills.

The second set saw several lead changes and ties until ORU took charge at the 20-all mark. After an IPFW attacking error and a freshman rightside hitter Serena Cate (Yorba Linda, Calif.) service ace, the Golden Eagles led 22-20. Oliveira put ORU up 24-22 while Ferreira tacked on the last point with a kill for the second set win.

After the break, the Mastodons came out with a goal and picked up the third set win to push the match into four sets.

The fourth set saw several ties at the beginning before the Golden Eagles took charge after a 9-all tie. A Ferreira service ace and kills from Souza and Novakovic took ORU up to a 14-10 lead. Two errors from IPFW brought the Golden Eagles up 17-13 while two kills from Souza gave ORU a 20-18 lead. After ties at 22 and 23, Novakovic brought in the 24th point on a kill and Holmes smashed a service ace for the Golden Eagles set and match victory.

ORU hit .308 on the night, while IPFW hit .232. The Golden Eagles had more kills (63-54), more assists (60-50) and more digs (69-55), while the Mastodons recorded more blocks (18-8).

The Golden Eagles advance to the Summit League championship match for the 10th time in the school's history. ORU will face top-seeded NDSU at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22 in the Cooper Aerobics Center on the ORU campus.

-ORU-

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Players Mentioned

#2 Serena Cate: RS; 6' 1"; Redshirt; El Dorado HS

#13 Cassidy Holmes: L; 5' 8"; Sophomore; Booker T. Washington HS

#5 Danijela Novakovic: OH; 6' 3"; Senior; Ekonomska Skola

#14 Thais Parada: S; 5' 8"; Senior; Mackenzie

#7 Jocelyn Swier: MB; 6' 0"; Sophomore; Ripon HS

Players Mentioned

#2 Serena Cate
: 6' 1"; Redshirt; El Dorado HS
: RS

#13 Cassidy Holmes
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; Booker T. Washington HS
: L

#5 Danijela Novakovic
: 6' 3"; Senior; Ekonomska Skola
: OH

#14 Thais Parada
: 5' 8"; Senior; Mackenzie
: S

#7 Jocelyn Swier
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; Ripon HS
: MB