ORU Volleyball Splits Final Day In Springfield

THE BASICS

Scores: Western Kentucky 3, Oral Roberts 1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15); Oral Roberts 3, Incarnate Word, 1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-14, 25-21)

Records: Oral Roberts – 4-3, Western Kentucky – 6-2, Incarnate Word – 1-6

Location: Hammons Center – Springfield, Mo.

THE LEADERS

Oral Roberts: For the day, Laura Milos collected 36 kills over two matches

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- ORU hit .106 in the Western Kentucky match and could muster just three blocks in their opener

- WKU, on the other hand, hit .340 and had 12 blocks. Heather Boyan recorded seven total blocks, including four solo efforts

- The ORU offense was in much better shape against UIW, hitting .312 as a team

- Sara Pope and McKenna Qualls each had 11 kills in the win over UIW. Qualls added 12 digs for her first double-double of the season and the third of her career.

- Shelby Cox had her best match of the year with nine kills and four blocks against UIW.

NEWS AND NOTES

- ORU finished 2-2 at the tournament, with a 3-1 loss to Missouri State on Thursday and a 3-0 win over Milwaukee yesterday

- ORU is now 16-21 in tournaments hosted by Missouri State over the years

- Head Coach Sheera Sirola is now 213-136 in her career

- ORU is now 2-0 all-time against Incarnate Word and 1-2 against Western Kentucky

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WESTERN KENTUCKY 3, ORAL ROBERTS 1

TURNING POINT

ORU looked to make a game of things after winning the 2nd set, but they hit -.054 in the 3rd frame and were overwhelmed, 25-14, and never got back into the match.

MATCH LEADERS

Oral Roberts: Milos tallied 16 kills, though she hit just .098. Kylie Johnson led the way with 12 digs.

Western Kentucky: Boyan, Alyssa Cavanaugh and Noelle Langenkamp each had 11 kills for the Hilltoppers.

1ST SET – WESTERN KENTUCKY, 25-16

The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never trailed. They won four of the set's final five points, with Heather Bodway stroking a kill on the second set point.

2ND SET – ORU, 25-23

ORU sprinted out to the early lead, with consecutive Jovana Poljasevic kills staking the Golden Eagles to a 6-2 lead. WKU gnawed into the lead and drew even, at 17-all, on a Langenkamp kill. But Milos got ORU back in front, smacking two kills as part of a four-point run to build the lead back, and Cox put home a kill on set point.

3RD SET – WESTERN KENTUCKY, 25-14

The momentum from the previous set evaporated quickly as WKU took an early 8-2 lead. A four-point ORU run, including two Poljasevic aces, cut it to 11-7, but WKU quickly retook control and won by 11 points.

4TH SET – WESTERN KENTUCKY, 25-15

WKU won the first three points and led the entire way, clinching the match with a 10-point victory.

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ORAL ROBERTS 3, INCARNATE WORD 1

TURNING POINT

After a shock win from UIW in the 2nd set, ORU reestablished their dominance with a 25-14 3rd set victory. The Golden Eagles scored the final four points of the set.

MATCH LEADERS

Oral Roberts: Milos racked up 20 kills for the third time this season, and Maggie DiPronio tallied a career-high 14 digs.

Incarnate Word: Angelique Vidaurri led the way with 12 kills.

1ST SET – ORU, 25-21

The opening set was tied at 19-all, but ORU won six of the final eight points. Milos polished off the frame with a kill on set point.

2ND SET – INCARNATE WORD, 25-21

After the teams swapped the lead several times, UIW took the lead for good on an ORU attack error at 15-14. Vidaurri salted the set away with a kill at set point.

3RD SET – ORU, 25-14

Stunned by their 2nd set loss, ORU scored four of the first five points to get off and running. Cox and Pope combined for a block at set point, and ORU moved ahead with an 11-point win.

4TH SET – ORU, 25-21

ORU led early before UIW tied it at 13-all on a Vidaurri kill. The set was tied again at 19-all on an ORU service error, but a match-closing 6-2 run led ORU to the win. Megan Doran spiked a kill at match point.

UP NEXT

ORU travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to face Arkansas on Tuesday night. Match time is set for 7 p.m.