TULSA, Okla. – The Golden Eagles headed across town to the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational, where they picked up their first win of the season, in addition to
Julia Carr being named to the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team.
The Golden Eagles fell behind early against Tulsa, trailing by as many as 10 points as Tulsa grabbed the advantage for good at 10-9 in a set that was tied up three times before the Golden Hurricane took control. In the second set, the Golden Eagles dropped the first point and never took the lead before dropping set two. In set three, the Golden Eagles fell behind on the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way before falling in the final set 25-15.
ORU took set one against New Mexico State 25-23, registering a .370 clip as a team with 15 kills in the set victory. The Golden Eagles then fell in a long second set 31-29 that was tied seven times and had four lead changes. ORU won the third set 26-24, propelled by a .333 attack percentage with 20 kills in the set win. The Golden Eagles rallied from down five at 9-4 to grab the set. ORU kept the momentum going, ending the match with a 25-22 fourth-set victory, seizing the set win despite falling behind by nine points at 12-3 before fighting back to win their first match of the season.
The Golden Eagles couldn't overcome an early deficit against Little Rock, trailing by as many as 14 points as Little Rock never gave up the lead. ORU fell in a back-and-forth set that featured two lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team led by more than four points along the way. The Golden Eagles couldn't prolong the match and lost in set number three, fighting from behind the rest of the way before falling in the third set 25-15.
Match Notes at Tulsa
Match Notes vs New Mexico State
- ORU had three players in double figures in kills (Zijlstra, Hart, Hickman)
- The Golden Eagles had four players reach double figures in digs.
- Rachel Resta carded her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career (27 assists, 17 digs)
- Farah Helmy tallied her first career double-double, racking up 21 assists and 10 digs.
- ORU came back from being down by nine points to win the fourth set.
- Suze Zijlstra had a match-high 21 kills for Oral Roberts, her first career 20-kill match.
- Julia Carr recorded a match-high 17 digs, tying her career-high.
Match Notes vs Little Rock
- Farah Helmy recorded her second-straight double-double, recording 10 assists and 14 digs.
- The Golden Eagles had three players in double figures in digs.
- Rachel Resta had a team-high two aces in the loss.
- Julia Carr led ORU in digs with 16.
- Oral Roberts attackers were helped by a team-high 12 assists from Rachel Resta.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will face Arkansas - Pine Bluff in their final match before conference play on Tuesday at 7 PM before hosting Denver on Thursday 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.
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