TU volleyball dominates in a two conference win last weekend.
The University of Tulsa’s volleyball team continued its home-court dominance this weekend with two conference wins over the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers on Friday and the University of Memphis Tigers on Sunday. The Golden Hurricane went into this weekend with a record of 13-3 overall and a conference record of 3-1. A strong start to the season, with two wins over SEC opponents Oklahoma and Arkansas, gave Tulsa an RPI (rating percentage index) of 43 —the highest ever achieved in program history. RPI is a rating system used to rank teams based on their winning percentage and their opponents’ winning percentage.
Going into the weekend, Tulsa was coming in on a great run of form. Four players earned all-conference honors the previous week, with senior Brayden Hipp winning Setter of the Week, Maegan Mills earning Freshman of the Week, and senior Kat Cooper and junior Olivia Vance being named as Honorable Mentions. Tulsa also had yet to lose a set at home all season, sweeping all opponents that came to play in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. This record was put to the test first on Friday, against the team last place in the conference standings, the UAB Blazers.
The first set ended in a 25-22 Tulsa win, thanks to multiple assists from setter Brayden Hipp, and key kills from Kat Cooper and Olivia Vance. The second and third sets also went to Tulsa, ending 25-19 and 25-18. Kat Cooper finished with an amazing performance, tallying 12 kills with a .611 hitting percentage. Other key contributors include Olivia Vance, who also finished with 12 kills, Brayden Hipp, who managed to record 38 assists, and true freshman Jill Hanson, who had 9 kills and 1 block.
After sweeping the Blazers, the impressive home streak continued into their next game against the Memphis Tigers. Similar to UAB, Memphis found itself towards the bottom of the conference due to multiple injuries to key players. The Golden Hurricane once again dominated the matchup, sweeping the Tigers. The first and second sets each ended 25-15, and the third finished 25-13, all in favor of Tulsa. It was a well-rounded team effort, with six players finishing with at least 4 kills and a huge performance once again from Brayden Hipp. She finished with 4 kills, 29 assists, and 20 digs. Olivia Vance also had another strong showing, leading the team in kills with 12 and adding 2 blocks to her performance.
After the strong weekend, Tulsa improves its record to 15-3 overall and finds itself second in the standings of the American Athletic Conference with a 5-1 conference record. Their record of winning every set at home continues, keeping them at an undefeated 6-0 home record. They will carry this great run of form with them as they go on a two-game road trip to once again face the Memphis Tigers on October 17, and the UAB Blazers on October 19. They will return to the Reynolds Center on October 24 to host the University of North Texas Mean Green, hoping to keep their unbeaten streak going.
