The Basics
Oral Roberts (14-7, 8-4 SL) vs. Denver (18-3, 9-2 SL)
Date/Time: Monday, November 1, 2021 / 7 p.m.
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center / Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team begins a five-match homestand Monday night welcoming defending Summit League regular season champion Denver to Cooper Aerobics Center for a 7 p.m. contest.

Watch the free, live video stream of the action on the ORU Sports Network or on the ORUSN Roku app (Download Here). The action also is available on the ORU Athletics app with links to download below.

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 to its third win streak of at least four matches 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 2.2 kills per set. Trinity Freeman has the team lead putting away 213 kills, including a career-best 19 at Western Illinois Oct. 16, while Sakira LaCour (194), Jaxie Wakley (167), Kaia Dunford (153), Aixa Vigil (129) and Jeslyn Spencer (123) 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 39th in the country thanks to LaCour's team-high .358 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 16 of 21 outings. ORU holds a 12-4 record when winning the battle at the net and as a team, has tallied 2.4 blocks per set that ranks 65th 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 17th nationally averaging 1.4 blocks per set after a career-high 11 total blocks at South Dakota State Oct. 28. That night she joined Bri Greenlee (2018) as the only ORU players to register 100 or more blocks in a season since 2013.
 
•Thanks to double-double performances in both outings at home, Vigil earned her first TicketSmarter Summit League Offensive Player of the Week of the season Oct. 26. The senior dominated during ORU's 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. She continues to lead the team putting away 2.9 kills per set on the year.
 
•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 fifth in the league averaging 4.4 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 and has 1,270 in her tenure.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 746 set assists at 10.0 per set, which ranks fourth in the league, and had nine outings with 40 or more assists in 2021, including a career-best 62 at SDSU Oct. 28. After a 50-assist effort Oct. 21, the sophomore crossed the 1,000 career assist milestone, and also has tallied a team-best, 10 double-doubles for the year. ORU currently tops The Summit League averaging 12.8 assists per set, which ranks 23rd in the nation.
 
•Denver saw its six-match win streak snapped in a five set, home loss to Omaha as the Mavericks have accounted for two of the Pioneers three losses this season. DU is one of the best teams in the nation at limiting the opposition as its held teams to a .133 hitting percentage against, which ranks sixth in the NCAA. Lydia Bartalo paces five Pioneers that average more than two kills per set as she has 207 total kills and tops the league posting 0.7 service aces 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.