The Basics
Oral Roberts (10-4, 4-1 SL) at Kansas City (12-5, 3-2 SL)
Date/Time: Saturday, October 9, 2021 / 1 p.m.
Location: Swinney Center / Kansas City, Mo.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team is back on the road for a Saturday afternoon contest at Kansas City starting at 1 p.m.

The Golden Eagles won their first four Summit League matches before that streak was stopped at league-leading Omaha Tuesday night, while the Roos are coming off a five-set setback to South Dakota.

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 and then started 4-0 in league action for the first time since 2017. It also tallied road sweeps against both North Dakota and North Dakota State for the first time in program history.
 
•The Golden Eagles' balance on offense has been a staple in 2021 as four players have at least 100 kills and five are averaging two kills per set. Trinity Freeman has the team lead putting away 135 kills, while Sakira LaCour (128), Kaia Dunford (122) and Jaxie Wakley (103) all have hit the century mark in total kills. The team has combined to register a hitting percentage of .243 that is second in the league and 61st in the country.
 
•LaCour has dominated at the net all year and was recently recognized for that work as the TicketSmarter Summit League Defensive Player of the Week Oct. 5. The junior leads the conference and is 55th nationally averaging 1.3 blocks per set, while Wakley and Freeman have aided the blocking effort totaling 45 and 40 blocks, respectively. As a team, ORU has tallied 115.5 total blocks and 2.2 per set.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 455 set assists at 9.1 per set, which ranks fifth in the league. The sophomore also has tallied six double-doubles in her last seven outings, including three straight. ORU is currently third in the conference in assists per set at 12.3, which ranks 59th in the nation.
 
•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 digs in a career against UT Martin. The redshirt senior currently ranks fourth in the league averaging 4.4 digs per set reaching double digits in all but one match this year, including a season-high 29 at Tulsa Sept. 11.
 
•Kansas City has dropped two of its last three outings, all at home, and have played five, five-set matches on the year. The Roos feature a high-powered offense behind outside hitter Melanie Brecka's league-leading 230 total kills. Brecka, the reigning Summit League Player of the Year, is 37th in the NCAA in total kills, while setter Ali Schomers is the top player in the nation totaling 709 assists.
 
•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.