TULSA - The Oral Roberts University volleyball team meets No. 23
Wichita State at 7 p.m. tonight at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita,
Kan. Live audio, video and stats will be
available at www.goshockers.com.
Scouting the Shockers
Wichita State enters Tuesday's contest with a 5-1 record and a No.
23 national ranking, marking the first ranked opponent the Golden
Eagles will face this season. The Shockers entered the season
ranked No. 17 and posted wins over Belmont and Louisville with a
loss to Pittsburgh at the Louisville Invitational. Wichita State
hosted the Best Western Shocker Classic last weekend and defeated
North Carolina, Grambling and Oklahoma, only dropping one set in
the three matches. Mary Elizabeth Hooper leads Wichita State with
187 assists, while Emily Stockman tops the squad with 68 kills for
a 3.40 kills per set mark. Melissa Granville leads the defense with
78 digs.
All-Time Results Versus Wichita State
ORU and Wichita State have met 29 times on the court, with the
Golden Eagles holding the 18-11 advantage in the series. ORU has
dropped three of the last four meetings against the Shockers since
2003, with the last victory coming during the 2006 season at
Wichita State. The Shockers won the last meeting between the two
schools by a score of 3-0 in Tulsa in 2007.`
Recapping the ORU Classic
The Golden Eagles hosted the ORU Classic last weekend, falling to
Tulsa (0-3) and UALR (2-3) before wrapping up the tournament with a
3-1 win over Northwestern State. Senior setter Juliane
Vieira was the lone Golden Eagle named to the all-tournament
team after posting 118 assists during the three matches. On Friday,
the Golden Eagles took the first two sets against UALR before
surrendering the final three games to the Lady Trojans. ORU dropped
the first set against Northwestern State on Saturday, but managed
to win the final three to improve to 4-2 on the season. Tulsa
didn't drop a set to capture
the tournament title.
Vieira Climbing ORU Record Book
Juliane Vieira returns for
her senior season in 2009 after earning Summit League Setter of the
Year awards last season. Vieira, the lone returning starter this
season, posted 1,248 assists over the last two years. The Ribeirao
Preto, Brazil, native has added 236 assists this season at the
Redbird Classic and ORU Classic for a total of 1,484, which ranks
10th in ORU history. Vieira also currently ranks second all-time in
school history with a 10.31 assists per game mark.
The Kids are Alright
ORU has a very young team this season, with six freshmen being
counted on to help ease the loss of seven letterwinners from last
year's 22-9 squad. So far this season, four of the newcomers have
played a vital role in ORU's success.
Tatum Fredeen,
Elizabeth McVicker,
Joana Gruber and
Olivia Ophus have
combined for 114 kills on 293 attempts, 14 assists, 13 service
aces, 93 digs and 19 assisted blocks in 60 sets played. Ophus
currently leads the squad with 69 digs, while ranking fourth with
30 kills. Fredeen ranks third among the Golden Eagles with 34
kills, including a career-high 15 against UALR on Saturday. Gruber
currently leads the squad in hitting percentage at .343 (28 kills),
while also pacing ORU with 10 service aces. McVicker is currently
tied for tops on the team with eight block assists and ranks third
with a .306 hitting percentage. The newcomers account for 40% of
the team's kills and 28% of the squad's digs.
- ORU -
