The Basics
Oral Roberts (6-3) at North Dakota (1-11)
Date/Time: Thursday, September 23, 2021 / 7 p.m.
Location: Betty Engelstad Sioux Center / Grand Forks, N.D.
Live Video | Live Stats

Oral Roberts (6-3) at North Dakota State (6-6)
Date/Time: Saturday, September 25, 2021 / 1 p.m.
Location: Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse / Fargo, N.D.
Live Video | Live Stats

TULSA, Okla. – Oral Roberts volleyball is coming off an impressive start to the campaign and turns its attention to The Summit League heading north to open conference play Sept. 23 at North Dakota and Sept. 25 at North Dakota State.

The Golden Eagles closed the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 6-3 record after beginning with six-consecutive wins and two tournament titles at Lamar and Southern Illinois. The next 18 matches will be against league opponents and six of the first eight are slated to be away from home.

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.
 
•Libero Sarah Thiessen was named The Summit League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career Aug. 31. She became the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 digs in a career against UT Martin Sept. 3 and currently ranks second in the league and 49th in the NCAA averaging 4.7 digs per set. The redshirt senior also was named a Player to Watch in the league's preseason coaches' poll.
 
•ORU has utilized its depth offensively as five players have at least 60 kills, including three with more than 80, and a team effort that's registered a hitting percentage of .240. Kaia Dunford leads the Golden Eagles posting 94 kills and averages 2.9 per set.
 
•Sakira LaCour has helped the team remain a force at the net as the junior is second in The Summit League and 69th nationally averaging 1.2 blocks per set, while Trinity Freeman and Jaxie Wakley each have totaled 30 blocks.
 
•Bryanne Soares has taken over as the starting setter and leads the team with 269 assists at 8.4 per set. Sylvia Lawson has added 77 assists and Thiessen has 38, including a career-best 10 against Tulsa Sept. 11 as part of her first collegiate double-double. ORU continues to lead the conference in assists per set at 12.1.
 
•North Dakota begins conference play having lost each of its last 10 matches after getting swept in all three outings at its own UND Classic Sept. 17-18. The Fighting Hawks top the league in digs per set at 16.5 thanks to three players registering three or more per set. Lexi Ahrens paces the team in kills (113) and blocks (52).
 
•The Bison picked up a tournament win at Cal with three-straight wins in four sets Sept. 10-11, but dropped all three matches at Portland State last weekend to even their non-conference record at 6-6. NDSU's offense comes through the duo of Ali Hinze and Syra Tanchin as they have combined for 294 kills, while four players average more than two 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 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.