The Basics
Oral Roberts (14-8, 8-5 SL) vs. Kansas City (17-8, 8-5 SL)
Date/Time: Saturday, November 6, 2021 / 1 p.m.
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center / Tulsa, Okla.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – In a battle of teams tied for fourth place in The Summit League standings, the Oral Roberts volleyball team hosts Kansas City in a pivotal match Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. from the Cooper Aerobics Center.

Watch the free, live video stream of the action on the ORU Sports Network or on the ORUSN Roku app (Download Here). The action also is available on the ORU Athletics app with links below to download.

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 4-1 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 2.2 kills per set. Trinity Freeman has the team lead putting away 217 kills, including a career-best 19 at Western Illinois Oct. 16, while Sakira LaCour (203), Jaxie Wakley (173), Kaia Dunford (158), Aixa Vigil (139) and Jeslyn Spencer (123) all have hit the century mark in total kills. The team has combined to register a hitting percentage of .251 that is second in the league and 46th in the country thanks to LaCour's team-high .361 effort.
 
•The Golden Eagles blocking efforts in 2021 have pushed to second in the league as they have registered more blocks than their opponents in 16 of 22 outings. ORU holds a 12-4 record when winning the blocking battle and as a team, has tallied 2.4 blocks per set that ranks 73rd 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 23rd nationally averaging 1.3 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 1,276 in her tenure.
 
•Bryanne Soares leads the team with 774 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, 10 double-doubles for the year. ORU currently tops The Summit League averaging 12.8 assists per set, which ranks 23rd in the nation.
 
•Kansas City dropped both ends of its trip to South Dakota to remain in a tie with the Golden Eagles. The Roos have five players currently putting away 2.4 kills per set or more to rank in the league's top 20 led by Melanie Brecka's 3.5 per set and 328 total kills. Alli Schomers (10.8 assists) and Maddie Renn (4.6 digs) both sit second in The Summit League in their respectively statistical categories.
 
•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.