TULSA, Okla. – The Golden Eagles lost a five-set thriller to the South Dakota Coyotes on Senior Night to close out their season at the Mabee Center.
 
The Golden Eagles found themselves in an early deficit, dropping a tough first set 25-13. ORU trailed by as many as 12 points as South Dakota never gave up the lead in a set that was tied up two times before the Coyotes took control. In set two, ORU responded to pick up a 25-22 victory with the help of a strong showing on the attacking side. The Golden Eagles put together a .306 hitting percentage with 15 kills in the set win. ORU grabbed a 2-1 lead after never looking back in the set to secure a 25-21 victory. The Golden Eagles opened up as much as a seven-point lead at 10-3 before finishing off the third set. The Coyotes forced a fifth set with a 25-13 fourth-set win after they grabbed the advantage for good at 4-3 and ORU couldn't recover. Oral Roberts took a lead of two sets to one before losing the final two sets, including a 15-11 loss in the fifth set. The Golden Eagles had a lead early in set five at 9-8 before South Dakota took over.
 
Game Notes

• Oral Roberts had three players in double figures in digs.
• Suze Zijlstra had a team-high two aces in the loss.
• Cortnee Smith registered a double-double with 11 kills and 19 digs
• ORU never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-21.
• Hayden Hart had a team-high 12 kills for Oral Roberts.
• The Golden Eagles got a team-high 19 digs from Cortnee Smith.
• ORU attackers were helped by a team-high 42 assists from Sophie Johnson.

 
Up Next
ORU will travel up to St. Thomas to take on the Tommies on Tuesday at 7 PM.
 
For the latest information on ORU Volleyball, follow @ORUVolleyball on X or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics App in the Google Play or App Store.