ORU Volleyball Grabs Pair Of Wins In Buffalo

The Oral Roberts volleyball team got the 2012 season off to a great start, sweeping two matches Friday at the University of Buffalo Invitational.

The Golden Eagles took down San Jose St, 3-1 (26-24, 12-25, -16, -22) in the first match, and then swept Canisius in the second match.

ORU managed just a .096 hit percentage in the first match against San Jose State, but used a strong defensive performance to win the match.

The Golden Eagles had 79 digs, with Bruna Silva digging 26 balls, and Olivia Ophus had 18. ORU also had 10 blocks with Jessica Pancratz leading the way with seven block assists. Pancratz added nine kills, one of three Golden Eagles with nine kills for the match.

Sheina Fernandes led the offense with 11 kills and a .381 hit percentage.

In the second match, ORU had no problems taking care of Canisius, sweeping them in straight sets (-16, -18, 28-26).

ORU improved the offense from their first match, hitting .254 for the match with three players in double-digits for kills. Fernandes and Luara Rosa had 12 kills to lead the team, while Tatum Fredeen had 11 and led ORU with a .529 hit percentage.

ORU used stingy defense to hold Canisius to a .109 hit percentage for the match, digging 54 balls and racking up 14 total blocks.

The Golden Eagles will face host Buffalo tomorrow for the tournament championship at 4 p.m. CST.