Tulsa-The Summit League's number one ranked IPFW Mastodons earned their tenth-straight conference win of the year with a closely-contested 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 17-25, 28-26) victory over ORU Sunday afternoon in the Aerobics Center.

ORU's Tatum Fredeen led all players with 20 kills (.265), to go with four digs, two service aces and a pair of blocks.

The Golden Eagles stormed out of the gates in style in game one, pulling ahead 13-8 on a kill by Luara Rosa. In what would turn out to be the story of the afternoon, however, IPFW was able to claw their way back into contention and eventually survive a see-saw battle down the stretch.

In similar fashion to game one, ORU jumped up early in the second frame of the afternoon, before watching the Mastodons battle their way back into contention and eventually knot things up at 10 each. From that point on, fans witnessed six ties, with neither team able to gain more than a three point lead. Finally, clinging to a narrow 20-19 lead, IPFW managed a 5-2 advantage to close out game two.

ORU fell behind 2-7 in the third set, before using a 14-5 run to storm back into the lead and hold on for the easy 25-17 decision.

With the match in the balance, the Golden Eagles once again jumped ahead early. Holding a commanding 9-2 lead, the hosts watched IPFW slowly begin to chip into their lead. The Mastodons finally knotted the contest up at 24 each and survived two more ties before squeaking out the 28-26 win.

Mayara Schlindwein logged the game's lone double-double for IPFW, posting 17 kills and 16 digs in the victory.

Jocelyn Swier added 14 kills and six combined blocks for ORU, while Bruna Silva tacked on 31 digs.

With the loss, the Golden Eagles fall to 8-12 on the year and 6-6 in Summit League play. IPFW improves to 17-8 overall and 11-2 in conference.

ORU is back in action next Friday, as they travel to Macomb, Illinois to battle the Western Illinois Leathernecks. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.

--ORU--