The Basics
Oral Roberts (3-0) vs. UT Martin (0-3)
Date/Time: Friday, September 3, 2021 / 10 a.m.

Oral Roberts (0-0) vs. Alabama A&M (0-3)
Date/Time: Friday, September 3, 2021 / 4 p.m.

Oral Roberts (0-0) at Southern Illinois (1-2)
Date/Time: Saturday, September 4, 2021 / 1:30 p.m.

Location: Banterra Center / Carbondale, Ill.
Live Video: ESPN3 vs. SIU
Live Stats: Southern Illinois Athletics

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts volleyball team puts its three-match win streak to the test at the Saluki Bash Sept. 3-4 playing three times during the weekend tournament.

After picking up victories in every contest last week, the Golden Eagles are back on the court at 10 a.m. Friday facing UT Martin before taking on Alabama A&M at 4 p.m. The last match of the weekend is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN3 against host Southern Illinois.

OPENING SERVE
•For the ninth time in program history, ORU started a season winning its first three outings after sweeping the Katrinka Crawford Invitational last weekend in Beaumont, Texas, and are one of 79 undefeated programs in the nation. Kaia Dunford was named tournament MVP, while Sakira LaCour and Sarah Thiessen joined her on the All-Tournament Team.
 
•Thiessen was named The Summit League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career Tuesday after pacing the conference in digs (54) and is second in digs per set (4.5). A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, she needs just five digs to become the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 in a career. The redshirt senior also was named a Player to Watch in the league's preseason coaches' poll.
 
•Dunford currently sits 24th in the nation totaling a league-best 49 kills and 4.08 kills per set. The sophomore posted her second-career outing with at least 20 kills coming in the season opener and was part of back-to-back double-doubles as she added 2.8 digs per set.
 
•LaCour and Jaxie Wakley rank first and second in The Summit League, respectively, in total blocks through the first week combining for 28 as the team ranks 26th in the NCAA.
 
•Setters Bryanne Soares and Sylvia Lawson have combined for 121 set assists in the first three matches tallying 70 and 51, respectively, and ORU leads the conference in assists per set at 12.4.
 
•The Golden Eagles used aggressive serving in Beaumont to take control of points early and registered 28 service aces, which ranks 14th in the NCAA. Jeslyn Spencer paces the team with seven aces and is 41st in the country.
 
•UT Martin dropped all three matches during opening weekend at the Arkansas State Invitational winning just one set against the host Red Wolves in its first outing. Karen Scanlon was named to the all-tournament team leading the Skyhawks with 23 kills and added 19 digs.
 
•Alabama A&M was picked to win the SWAC in the preseason coaches' poll, but failed to win a set at the Tulane Invitational last week and are 0-3 on the young season. Three players reached double-digit kills in the opening series led by Ryann Tolbert's 12.
 
•Southern Illinois was predicted to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference and suffered losses in its first two contests at the Southern Miss Tourney before getting a victory over Mississippi Valley State Saturday. The Salukis had a trio of hitters that posted 20 or more kills with Nataly Garcia leading the way with 26, while Katy Kluge averaged 4.8 digs per set defensively.
 
•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 return 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 welcomes back 99 percent of its total digs and blocks from a year ago.
 
•Head Coach Frank Craig III returns for his second season with the Golden Eagles and welcomes three freshman to the program. Trinity Freeman (Phoenix, Arizona), Breanna Rivas (Albuquerque New Mexico) and Saje Washington (Dublin, Ohio) begin their collegiate careers.
 
•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.