Tulsa Volleyball Outlasts Oral Roberts

It took five sets and a lot of back-and-forth action to determine the victor in Tuesday night's rivalry match between Tulsa and Oral Roberts before TU came out on top.

Tyler Henderson slammed 28 kills, and Jordan Clampitt, Kellie Culbertson, and Diana Silva recorded double-doubles to lead the Tulsa Hurricane volleyball team to a five-set, 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-13, 22-25, 15-13) victory against Oral Roberts at the Kenneth H. Cooper Aerobics Center.

The Golden Hurricane (5-3) won its fifth straight over the cross-town rival Golden Eagles (4-4). Culbertson put out a line of 12 kills, 17 digs and five service aces. Clampitt set 51 assists with 13 digs, while Silva tallied 14 kills and 17 digs for the Golden Hurricane.

TU hit .238 with 67 kills and 74 digs, while Oral Roberts hit .152 with 52 kills and 77 digs. TU tallied 9.0 blocks, while ORU had 16.0 blocks in the match.

ORU grabbed an 8-5 lead in the final set as the teams changed sides. After a Tulsa timeout,  the Hurricane rattled off four consecutive points to gain a 9-8 advantage. ORU tied the match up at nine before Tulsa went on a three-point thanks to two Culbertson aces to give TU a 13-10 lead they would never lose.  Tulsa took home the final set 15-13 thanks to five kills by Henderson and three by Ashley Hooper.

The Golden Hurricane is back in action at the Northern Colorado Classic Friday and Saturday. The Hurricane takes on the host Northern Colorado at 8 p.m. Friday, then plays Saturday against Creighton at 11 a.m. and Ball State at 6 p.m.

ORU hits the road again this weekend to take part in the Mean Green Invitational in Denton, Texas. ORU faces host North Texas in the opener on Friday at noon.