The Basics
Oral Roberts (15-8, 9-5 SL) vs. Western Illinois (4-22, 3-12 SL)
Date/Time: Thursday, November 11, 2021 / 7 p.m.
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center / Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video | Live Stats

Oral Roberts (15-8, 9-5 SL) vs. St. Thomas (3-22, 2-13 SL)
Senior Day
Date/Time: Saturday, November 13, 2021 / 1 p.m.
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center / Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The five-match homestand for Oral Roberts volleyball continues when it plays host to Western Illinois Nov. 11 and St. Thomas Nov. 13 inside the Cooper Aerobics Center.

The Golden Eagles hold a one-game lead over both Kansas City and South Dakota State for the fourth spot in The Summit League standings heading into the final two weeks of competition.

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 sits 5-1 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 2.1 kills per set. Trinity Freeman has the team lead putting away 225 kills, including a career-best 19 at Western Illinois Oct. 16, while Sakira LaCour (215), Jaxie Wakley (179), Kaia Dunford (167), Aixa Vigil (150) and Jeslyn Spencer (124) all have hit the century mark in total kills. The team has combined to register a hitting percentage of .251 that is third in the league and 48th in the country thanks to LaCour's team-high .360 effort.
 
•The Golden Eagles blocking efforts in 2021 have pushed to the top in the league as they have registered more blocks than their opponents in 17 of 23 outings. ORU holds a 13-4 record when winning the blocking battle 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 14th 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 4.2 digs per set and has recorded double digits in all but three 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 1,293 in her tenure.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 812 set assists at 9.9 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, 11 double-doubles for the year. ORU currently tops The Summit League averaging 12.6 assists per set, which ranks 37th in the nation.
 
•WIU has dropped nine of its last 10 matches and will officially miss the postseason in 2021. Mariah Mitchell and Aubrey Putnam are pacing the offense tallying 2.7 and 2.3 kills per set, while Gabby DePersio, Cassie Hunt and Putnam all average 2.5 or more digs per set for the Leathernecks defensively.
 
•The Tommies picked up their second conference win of the year at North Dakota Oct. 30, but suffered consecutive losses in South Dakota last week. Lauren Galvin remains a force for the UST offense as she leads the team with 272 kills averaging 3.3 a set. Carrie Rutledge has posted 3.2 digs per set to top the defense.
 
•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.