The Basics
No. 5 Oral Roberts (17-10, 11-7 SL) vs. No. 4 Kansas City (21-9, 12-6 SL)
Date/Time: Thursday, November 25, 2021 / 4:30 p.m.
Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center / Vermillion, S.D.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The postseason begins Thursday for the No. 5 seed Oral Roberts volleyball team as it plays in The Summit League Championship Quarterfinals against the No. 4 seed Roos of Kansas City at 4:30 p.m. South Dakota is hosting the six-team tournament at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

The Golden Eagles need to win three matches in three days to reach the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2006.

OPENING SERVE
•ORU holds a 21-10 all-time record at the Mid-Continent Conference/Summit League tournament and won the event seven times.
 
•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 mid-season sweeps of St. Thomas and Western Illinois, the Golden Eagles won six road matches, 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 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. ORU closed the home portion of the campaign with a 7-2 record, including a four-set takedown of South Dakota.
 
•The team-first mentality continues to be on display for the Golden Eagles as six players have at least 100 kills, including three above 200, and five are averaging more than two kills per set. Trinity Freeman has the team lead putting away 267 kills, while Sakira LaCour (249), Jaxie Wakley (200), Kaia Dunford (188), Aixa Vigil (173) and Jeslyn Spencer (133) all have hit the century mark in total kills. The team has combined to register a hitting percentage of .248 that is third in the league and 48th in the country thanks to LaCour's team-high .366 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 19 of 27 outings. ORU holds a 14-5 record when winning the blocking battle and as a team has tallied 2.4 blocks per set that ranks 61st 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 1.3 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).
 
•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 fourth 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 1,350 in her tenure.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 935 set assists at 9.7 per set, which ranks fourth in the league, and had 19 outings with 30 or more assists, 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, 14 double-doubles for the year. ORU currently is third in The Summit League averaging 12.5 assists per set, which sits 56th in the nation.
 
•ORU was picked to finish sixth in The Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll for the 2021 season in the 10-team league and finished one spot ahead of that projection placing fifth.
 
•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.
 
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.