The Oklahoma Sooner volleyball team’s 2011 season came to a bitter end Friday night as the Sooners lost to Tulsa in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 3-1 (22-25, -18, 22-25, 18-25).
The Sooners hit .278 for the match and held Tulsa to a .235 hitting percentage. However, the Golden Hurricane had 69 kills to the Sooners’ 52.
Tulsa outside hitter Tyler Henderson was the star of the match, going off for 30 kills and just five attack errors on 57 swings for a .439 hitting percentage.
Kellie Culbertson had 17 kills and 15 digs for the Golden Hurricane, who will advance to play the winner of USC and Yale at 9 p.m. Saturday.
A trio of Sooners had 10 kills for OU, including senior right side Suzy Boulavsky, who played her final game for the Sooners. Junior outside hitter Morgan Reynolds and sophomore middle blocker Sallie McLaurin were the other two Sooners with 10 kills.
Senior setter Brianne Barker had a double-double in her final game in an OU uniform with 45 assists and 17 digs. Junior libero María Fernanda had a match-high 24 digs to lead the defense.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair until Tulsa took a 19-15 lead on several OU attack errors. OU rallied to tie the score at 19, but Tulsa pulled away down the stretch to take the set, 25-22.
In the second set, the Sooners broke a 2-2 tie with a quick 3-0 run, and the rout was on. The Sooners led by as many as 11 in the set as they rolled to a 25-18 win.
The Sooners hit .406 and benefited from eight Tulsa attack errors in the set.
Coming out of the locker room tied at one set apiece, the Sooners and Golden Hurricane battled back and forth in much the same manner as the first set. Tulsa grabbed a 16-12 lead, but the Sooners went on a 5-0 run to take a 17-16 lead.
The two teams exchanged leads until, at 20-20, Henderson rattled off five straight kills to give Tulsa the set, 25-22. Henderson had nine of her 30 kills in the set.
In the fourth set, Tulsa jumped out to an early 9-5 lead and never looked back. OU got no closer than three, thanks to nine more kills from Henderson, as Tulsa ended the Sooners’ season, 25-19.
OU finishes the season 21-12 and appeared in three straight NCAA tournaments for the first time in program history. The Sooners will lose seniors Barker, Boulavsky, Caitlin Higgins, Kylie Cowan and Carlee Roethlisberger to graduation but will return three starters in 2012.
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