The Basics
Oral Roberts (14-5, 8-2 SL) at South Dakota State (12-9, 4-6 SL)
Date/Time: Thursday, October 28, 2021 / 7 p.m.
Location: Frost Arena / Brookings, S.D.
Live Video | Live Stats

Oral Roberts (14-5, 8-2 SL) at South Dakota (11-8, 8-2 SL)
Date/Time: Saturday, October 30, 2021 / 1 p.m.
Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center / Vermillion, S.D.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team puts its four-match win streak to the test with road challenges in the Mount Rushmore State facing South Dakota State Oct. 28 and South Dakota Oct. 30.

The Golden Eagles are tied for third with the Coyotes in The Summit League standings and one loss out of the top spot in a five-team cluster as the race to the finish continues.

OPENING SERVE
•ORU won at least five matches to begin a campaign for the fifth time in program history and the first since 1996 claiming victories in six straight to open the 2021 campaign. Thanks to sweeps of the Tommies and Fighting Leathernecks, the Golden Eagles have six road wins, their most since winning nine away from home in 2013.
 
•The Golden Eagles started 4-0 in Summit League action for the first time since 2017 picking up road sweeps against both North Dakota and North Dakota State for the first time in ORU history and added a win in the first-ever meeting against conference newcomer St. Thomas Oct. 14. Another perfect home weekend over the Bison and Fighting Hawks pushed ORU's win streak to four as it remains undefeated at home in 2021.
 
•Offensive balance and efficiency continue to be at the forefront of the Golden Eagles' success as six players have at least 100 kills and five are averaging more than two kills per set. Trinity Freeman has the team lead putting away 187 kills, including a career-best 19 at Western Illinois Oct. 16, while Sakira LaCour (173), Kaia Dunford (142), Jaxie Wakley (138), Aixa Vigil (109) and Jeslyn Spencer (108) all have hit the century mark in total kills. The team has combined to register a hitting percentage of .253 that is second in the league and 44th in the country thanks to LaCour's team-high .370 effort.
 
•The Golden Eagles blocking efforts in 2021 have pushed to the top of the league as they have registered more blocks than their opponents in 15 of 19 outings. ORU holds a 12-3 record when winning the battle at the net and as a team, has tallied 2.4 blocks per set that ranks 62nd in the NCAA.
 
•LaCour has dominated at the net all year and been recognized for that work as the TicketSmarter Summit League Defensive Player of the Week Oct. 5 and Oct. 19. The junior leads the conference and is 29th nationally averaging 1.3 blocks per set after a career-high eight block assists at WIU, while Wakley and Freeman have aided the blocking effort totaling 67 and 54 blocks, respectively.
 
•Thanks to double-double performances in both outings last week, Vigil earned her first TicketSmarter Summit League Offensive Player of the Week of the season Oct. 26. The senior dominated during ORU's home wins over NDSU and UND totaling 29 kills (4.1 per set) and hit at a .431 clip, while adding 3.0 digs per set.
 
•Libero Sarah Thiessen was named TicketSmarter Summit League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career Aug. 31 and less than a week later became the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs. The redshirt senior currently ranks third in the league averaging 4.5 digs per set and has recorded double digits in all but two matches this year, including a season-high 29 at Tulsa Sept. 11. Thiessen moved to fifth in career digs in ORU history over the weekend tallying 1,244 in her tenure.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 643 set assists at 9.7 per set, which ranks fourth in the league, and had seven outings with 40 or more assists in 2021. After a 50-assist effort Oct. 21, the sophomore crossed the 1,000 career assist milestone, and also has tallied a team-best nine double-doubles for the year. ORU currently tops The Summit League averaging 12.7 assists per set, which ranks 23rd in the nation.
 
•SDSU has dropped its last three matches, but remains in position to reach the postseason sitting in sixth place in The Summit League standings thanks to a three-match win streak in early October. The Jackrabbits are led offensively by Crystal Burk's 3.8 kills per set, which is second in the conference, and Chloe Stitt is seventh averaging 2.9 per set. Tatum Pickar leads the team posting 3.9 digs per set as one of five players with more than 100 total digs.
 
•The Coyotes have won six of their last seven matches with only a five-set loss at Denver during the stretch. The high-powered offense runs through Elizabeth Juhnke (3.5 kills per set) and Madison Harms (2.5 kills per set) as both players are in the top 15 of the conference, while Harms' .409 hitting percentage is 22nd in the NCAA. Harms also is near the top of the league in blocking as she averages 1.3 per set.
 
•ORU was picked to finish sixth in The Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll for the 2021 season in the 10-team league.
 
•The Golden Eagles returned all seven starters and 10 letterwinners from its 2020 squad accounting for 96 percent of kills and 100 percent of their assists and service aces. On the defensive side, ORU welcomed back 99 percent of its total digs and blocks from a year ago.
 
•Head Coach Frank Craig III is back for his second season and welcomed three freshman to the program. Trinity Freeman (Phoenix, Arizona), Breanna Rivas (Albuquerque New Mexico) and Saje Washington (Dublin, Ohio) began their collegiate careers at ORU this fall.
 
•The top six regular-season finishers qualify for The Summit League Volleyball Championship slated for Nov. 25-27 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, S.D.
 
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 the ORU Athletics app from the App Store or Google Play Store.