USC
Tulsa vs. Oklahoma
Tulsa Defeats Oklahoma In Four Sets In NCAA First Round
December 02, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 2, 2011
LOS ANGELES - Tyler Henderson had 30 kills while hitting .439 (30-5-57) as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in four sets (25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 25-19) in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament at the Galen Center.
Tonight's match was a rematch of an NCAA second-round match last season when Oklahoma defeated Tulsa in five sets.
Kellie Culbertson had 17 kills for Tulsa (28-6) with 15 digs while hitting .302 (17-4-43) while Jordan Clampitt had 31 assists and seven digs. Kelsey Hancock chipped in 11 kills and two solo blocks while Diana Silva had eight kills, three aces and 15 digs.
Three players had 10 kills each for Oklahoma (21-12): Suzy Boulavsky, Morgan Reynolds and Sallie McLaurin. McLaurin and Boulavsky hit .400 each with McLaurin leading the Sooners with five blocks. Senior setter Brianne Barker finished her career with four kills, 45 assists, 17 digs and two blocks.
Henderson's kill gave the Golden Hurricane the 10-9 lead in the first set. Higgins would give the Sooners a 13-12 lead before Silva's kill tied the set and started three straight as Tulsa led 15-13 at the media timeout. Tulsa stayed ahead as both teams traded hitting errors for the 19-16 score. Boulavsky and Sallie McLaurin stuffed Henderson's attempt to bring the Sooners within one at 19-18 and Boulavsky tied the set with a kill. Henderson gave TU the momentum back and Silva served up an ace as Tulsa took the 22-19 lead. Morgan Reynolds and Keila Rodriguez got the Sooners within one again at 22-21, but it was Henderson who used two kills to close out the set win for Tulsa.
Oklahoma opened the second set with a 6-3 run. Barker used a solo block on Reynolds from the left side to push the Sooner lead to five, 11-6. Barker used a kill, followed by a Mindy Gowen ace to make it 17-9 for OU. Grace Whitley's block on Carly Boatwright made it a 10-point lead at 20-10. A small TU rally would bring get the Golden Hurricane within six, but Silva's ace and a kill from Boulavsky tied the match.
With a 12-12 score in the third set, Henderson started four straight as Tulsa held the 16-12 lead. OU responded with a 5-1 run before Hancock tied it at 17-17. Henderson took over late in the set with three straight kills and finished off the set as Tulsa took a 2-1 match advantage. Tulsa finished off the win in the fourth set after Hancock tallied a kill with Jordan Clampitt's ace aiding an 8-1 run to break away from a 5-5 tie. OU would get within four at 19-15 before Henderson figured for three more kills to send Tulsa into the second round.
Tulsa faces USC in a second-round match tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on usctrojans.com with a free video webcast.
Notes: Tyler Henderson's 30 kills were the second-highest of the season, three off her season best of 33 (five sets against Illinois on Sept. 10)...Tulsa advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row after winning the Conference USA regular-season championship this season with an 18-2 mark...Oklahoma made its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth in the last six years.
TU 25-18-25-25 OU 22-25-22-19Records: Tulsa (28-6), Oklahoma (21-12) Kills: Tyler Henderson 30 (TU), Suzy Boulavsky/Morgan Reynolds/Sallie McLaurin 10 (OU)
Team: TU OU 1 .226 .135 2 .098 .406 3 .400 .400 4 .256 .200 Match .235 .278
