The Basics
Oral Roberts (17-8, 11-5 SL) vs. Omaha (18-8, 15-1 SL)
Date/Time: Thursday, November 18, 2021 / 7 p.m.
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center / Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video | Live Stats

Oral Roberts (17-8, 11-5 SL) at Denver (22-4, 13-3 SL)
Date/Time: Saturday, November 20, 2021 / 2 p.m. (CT)
Location: Hamilton Gymnasium / Denver, Colo.
Live Video ($) | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – It's the final weekend of the regular season and the Oral Roberts volleyball plays at home for the last time in 2021 hosting Omaha Nov. 18 before a trip to Denver Nov. 20.

The Golden Eagles already have clinched a postseason spot as they remain in fourth place in The Summit League standings and are one game ahead of Kansas City. ORU could finish anywhere from second to fifth depending on the results of the final weekend.

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. After three-straight victories, ORU holds a 7-1 mark at home this season.
 
•The team-first mentality continues to be on display for the Golden Eagles 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 251 kills, while Sakira LaCour (231), Jaxie Wakley (193), Kaia Dunford (175), Aixa Vigil (153) and Jeslyn Spencer (133) all have hit the century mark in total kills. The team has combined to register a hitting percentage of .253 that is third in the league and 42nd in the country thanks to LaCour's team-high .364 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 18 of 25 outings. ORU holds a 14-4 record when winning the blocking battle and as a team has tallied 2.4 blocks per set that ranks 57th 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 10th nationally averaging 1.4 blocks per set after a career-high 11 total blocks at South Dakota State Oct. 28. The junior is one of just three players to register more than 120 blocks in a season since 2000 joining Maja Devic (164 in 2006) and Jessica Pancratz (163 in 2012).
 
•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.
 
•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 1,319 in her tenure.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 876 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, 12 double-doubles for the year. ORU currently tops The Summit League averaging 12.7 assists per set, which ranks 33rd in the nation.
 
•Omaha remains atop The Summit League standings and has clinched at least a share of the regular season title needing just one win to secure the title outright behind a nine-match winning streak. The Mavericks defense has held opponents to a .160 hitting percentage, which ranks 25th in the NCAA. Setter Sami Clarkson is second in the conference averaging 10.9 assists per set and Sadie Limback and Marriah Buss are both in the top 10 of the league posting 3.7 and 2.9 kills per set, respectively.
 
•The Pioneers are currently tied for second place with South Dakota and have won four of their last five matches. Lydia Bartalo paces the DU offense tallying 2.9 kills per set and also ranks fourth in the nation averaging 0.6 service aces per set. Brianna Green and Tina Boe are a threat at the net as they sit sixth and seventh in the league averaging 1.1 and 1.0 blocks per set, respectively.
 
•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.