The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 2 – Louisiana Tech 3
Records: ORU (3-7) – LA Tech (3-9)
Location: Vadalabene Center (Edwardsville, Ill.)

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team battled back to force a decisive fifth set with Louisiana Tech before falling in its opening match of the SIUE Cougar Classic (17-25, 25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 12-15) Friday at the Vadalabene Center.

ORU had its offense running quick and efficient in its two set wins hitting .289 and .212 in the second and fourth frames, respectively, but ran into trouble the other three sets to suffer the defeat. A big run from the Lady Techsters closed the first set before the Golden Eagles regained their composure to even the match in set two. ORU bounced back from a challenging third set and took advantage of a critical stretch early in the fourth to force a final frame.

Katarina Mikulic led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills, while finishing with a career-high 25 digs to complete the double-double. Bria Bergman also tallied a double-double posting 38 set assists and 13 digs

Inside the Box Score

• Mikulic reached 20 or more digs for the first time in her career and tallied the third double-double in her last four appearances.
• Tori Roe also put up 25 digs for ORU crossing 20-plus digs for the third-straight match. The senior from nearby St. Louis, Missouri, moved to fourth on the all-time digs list with 1,252 passing Patricia Menezes (1999-2002).
• Taylan Nero was a bright spot offensively finishing with a team-best.421 hitting percentage as she and Lara Picht hit double-digit kills registering 11 and 10, respectively.
• Sarah Thiessen added a career-best 16 digs as ORU posted an even 100 for the contest.
• Bri Greenlee led the squad with four block assists and also recorded seven kills.
• The Golden Eagles fall to 0-2 on the season in five-set contests.

Up Next
ORU caps its non-conference schedule with a pair of matches Saturday getting its first-ever look at Northern Kentucky (1:30 p.m.) and SIUE (6 p.m.) to finish off the Cougar Classic. Both matches will have live stats available, while the finale against the host SIUE will feature live video at www.ORUAthletics.com.

For the latest information on ORU Volleyball, follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.  Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading two mobile apps, ORU Golden Eagles Live and ORU Front Row, available on the App Store and Google Play.

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