This weekend, Tulsa volleyball hosted to Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas State and Southern Illinois in the Hurricane Classic.
In their first match on Friday morning, the Golden Hurricane played Stephen F. Austin. Tulsa came out strong, and after taking a 12–9 lead in the first set, didn’t look back until they closed the set out 25–19 to take a 1–0 match lead.
The next set was much closer, as the score was tied 4 separate times, including a tie at 22 each. Tulsa scored three straight points to take the set and a 2–0 lead in the match.
From there, the tide of the game changed dramatically. Stephen F. Austin won the next three sets, pulling off the comeback victory. The middle set of the match was close, with Stephen F. Austin pulling out the 25–23 win. The next two sets finished 25–20 and 15–10, as the Ladyjacks took the match 3–2.
In the second game for the Golden Hurricane, they were thoroughly defeated by foe Arkansas State, three sets to none. The first set was close; the score was tied at 22 apiece before Arkansas State was able to pull away for a 25–22 victory. After that set, Tulsa fell flat. They couldn’t muster 20 points in either of the next two sets, and dropped them 25–14 and 25–16, giving Arkansas State the 3–0 match victory.
Rebecca Reeve goes up for the spike against Southern Illinois. Reeve had a team-high two aces and three blocks in Saturday’s loss.
Tulsa looked to salvage a win from the Classic against their final opponent, Southern Illinois on Saturday. The Salukis, however, had other ideas. The first two sets followed a similar form, as Southern Illinois broke early ties to win each set with the same score, 25–19 to take a 2–0 match lead.
Tulsa fought back and took the next set, though. This time, they were on top of the 25–19 set score, and pulled the match score to 2–1.
However, it wasn’t enough to get the comeback going. The fourth and final set was very competitive, and was tied at 25 each. The Salukis scored the next two points, winning the set 27–25 to take the match, 3–1.
After their losses in the Hurricane Classic, the Golden Hurricane record fell to 3–6 on the season.
They look to bounce back from the tough weekend when they play again in the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational next weekend. Their first game is at Oral Roberts on Friday, and they will follow that with two home games on Saturday against Houston Baptist and North Texas.
