smashed ten kills as the Oral Roberts volleyball team scored a three-game sweep over Chattanooga on Friday afternoon in the opening match of the Owls Invitational, hosted by Kennesaw State. The win is the second in a row for the Golden Eagles.

Led by McVicker, ORU hit a season-high .261 in the match. Laura Taylor added seven kills and 27 assists, while Bruna Silva again paced the defensive charge with 15 digs.

Taylor's seven-kill effort was especially impressive considering it came on just eight attempts. The sophomore hit a sterling .875 on the afternoon.

Chattanooga (1-4) committed 26 attack errors in the match en route to their fourth consecutive loss. Christina Teter had nine kills to pace the Mocs in defeat.

ORU played their best volleyball of the young season right from the start Friday afternoon, capturing the first set by a wide margin. A Taylor kill gave the Golden Eagles a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish, and it was clear sailing for Sheera Sirola's team for the remainder of the game. A kill by Sheina Fernandes put the Eagles on the brink, at 24-16, and a Jessica Pancratz point ended the set in ORU's favor, 25-18.

An early 5-0 stretch, highlighted by a Fernandes ace, put Sirola's squad in charge in the second set, 6-2. The Brazil native punctuated a 7-1 run later in the set to push the advantage up to 16-5, and Olivia Ophus drilled a pair of kills as part of a 6-0 run that ended the set with ORU in command, 25-8.

A service ace by Shelby Robb ace on the first point of the game put Chattanooga on notice that the third set would go the way of the first two. Fernandes kicked off a four-point run midway through the set to push the lead to 8-3, and McVicker tallied a kill that launched a three-point run to make the score 12-6. A late 7-0 Chattanooga run could not change the result, as ORU scored a decisive 25-21 win to secure the sweep.

McVicker and Taylor were two of five Golden Eagles to finish the match with at least five kills. Ophus tallied six kills on the day, while Fernandes and Tatum Fredeen each had five.

After winning their first-ever match against Chattanooga, the Golden Eagles face two more first-time opponents on Saturday with a chance to move over .500 for the first time this year. ORU faces Winthrop at 11 am CT, while the host Owls will welcome Sirola's team at 6 pm CT.