The Basics
Score: No. 5 Oral Roberts 3 – No. 4 Kansas City 1
Records: ORU (18-10) – KC (21-10)
Box Score
Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center (Vermillion, S.D.)
 
VERMILLION, S.D. – The No. 5 seed Oral Roberts volleyball team dominated the final three sets to take down No. 4 seed Kansas City (18-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14) in The Summit League Championship Quarterfinals Thursday at Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
Sakira LaCour and Trinity Freeman recorded 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while five players finished with at least seven kills to lead the offense. The Golden Eagles also excelled at the net out-blocking the Roos by a 13-8 margin securing their first postseason win since 2017.
 
The Golden Eagles fell behind early in the opening set, 9-3, but fought back to close the gap to two, 11-9. A solo block from Jaxie Wakley followed by a Wakley and Aixa Vigil block pulled ORU within one, 17-16, only to have the Roos score the next seven points and close the set, 25-18.
 
ORU tallied the first three points of the second stanza and held a slim edge until Kansas City evened the score, 8-8. A 4-0 run by the Golden Eagles capped on a service ace by Bryanne Soares pushed to a 12-8 lead and the burst continued as the margin swelled to 20-10 behind a Sarah Thiessen ace. Kaia Dunford buried a swing on the final point to secure the set win, 25-18.
 
The third set was a battle to start until ORU broke open the frame turning a one-point cushion into a 14-7 advantage thanks to seven-straight points. LaCour started and finished the run with kills from the middle as Soares served out the rally. The lead stretched as high as nine,18-9, on another 3-0 run as the Golden Eagles got kills from LaCour and Vigil before a Roos error. After Dunford found the floor setting up set point, it was a block from LaCour and Freeman that sealed the win, 25-18.
 
Dunford opened the scoring in the fourth set and consecutive kills from Soares, LaCour and Dunford broke a 6-6 tie. ORU never looked back as it controlled the rest of the set pushing to a 19-11 lead as Chloe Salcedo served up an ace. The Golden Eagles ended the night, 25-14, by scoring the final three points on kills from Vigil and LaCour around an ace by Wakley.
 
Inside the Box Score

• LaCour proved her All-Summit League First Team selection as she paced ORU with 11 kills and a .429 hitting percentage. The junior also dominated the Roos at the net totaling two solo blocks and four block assists.
• Freeman reached double-digit kills for the 14th time this season behind 10 kills and had five total blocks.
• Dunford (8 kills), Wakley (8 kills) and Vigil (7 kills) supported the balanced offense of the Golden Eagles, while Vigil added 10 digs and Wakley had a season-best eight digs.
• Soares registered 34 set assists in the win to go with eight digs and two block assists.
• Thiessen led the defensive effort with 13 digs and matched Soares by tallying two service aces.
• The Golden Eagles out-hit the Roos by a .204 to .099 margin, including a .294 to .059 mark in the final set.
• ORU posted its 18th win of the season, the most since a 22-win campaign in 2013.

 
Up Next
ORU advances to The Summit League Championship Semifinals where it meets regular season champion and top seeded Mavericks of Omaha Friday at 4:30 p.m.
 
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.