The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 1 – Denver 3
Records: ORU (5-13, 2-4) – Denver (11-7, 5-2)
Location: Cooper Aerobics Center (Tulsa, Okla.)
 
TULSA, Okla. – Despite a career-high 20 kills from Trinity Freeman, the Oral Roberts volleyball team dropped their fourth straight match Saturday afternoon as they fell to Denver in four sets (25-23, 19-25, 14-25, 24-26) inside the Cooper Aerobics Center.

Freeman was the lone Golden Eagle to reach double-digit kills on the afternoon as the sophomore led all players with 20. The Phoenix, Arizona, native also logged a .327 attack percentage on the afternoon.

For the second straight match, Bryanne Soares registered a double-double as the junior finished with 29 assists and 15 digs. The double-double was the 23rd of her career.

On the backrow, Breanna Rivas (19), Kaia Dunford (15) and Chloe Salcedo (10) joined Soares with double-digit digs. At the net, Sakira LaCour totaled a team-best four blocks.

In a back-and-forth opening set that featured 13 ties and five lead changes, ORU came out on top 25-23 courtesy of Freeman's sixth kill of the game. The Golden Eagles gained the advantage in the set with a 5-1 run that gave them a 23-18 lead. Soares sparked the run with a dump kill and Dunford finished it off with her fourth kill of the set.

Three of the first four points of the second stanza went the way of Denver but ORU battled back to level the score at 8-8. The Pioneers later used a 3-0 run to take an 18-14 lead before Freeman stopped the surge with a kill. The 3-0 stretch gave Denver all the cushion they needed as they held off ORU to claim the set, 25-19, and tie the match.

The Pioneers jumped out to an 8-3 advantage in the third and later used an 8-0 run to take a commanding 19-9 lead. Denver totaled six of the final 10 points of the stanza to take the set, 25-14.

Following a 6-0 run by the Pioneers, the Golden Eagles faced a 16-10 deficit in the fourth and final set. ORU battled back to within two, 18-16, but Denver responded with a 5-1 run to push their lead to 23-17. A dump kill from Kalena Vaivai put an end to the stretch and jumpstarted a 7-1 surge for the Golden Eagles as they staved off three match points to even the score at 24-24. The Pioneers answered with the final two points of the game to claim the set, 26-24, and the match.


Match Notes

• Saturday's match marked the 19th meeting all-time between ORU and Denver.
• Freeman led the Golden Eagles in kills for the 13th time this season.
• Soares double-double was her third of the season.
• LaCour contributed nine kills in the match.
• The 19 digs from Rivas matched her career-high.

Up Next
ORU concludes their three-match homestand with Western Illinois Tuesday night at 7 p.m. inside the Cooper Aerobics Center.
 
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