Bronchos Topple ORU In Exhibition

UCO Takes 3-1 Win In Tulsa, Regular Season Opens Sept. 4 In Texas

TULSA, Okla. – It doesn't count in the win-loss column, but Central Oklahoma's hard-fought four-set exhibition triumph over Oral Roberts Saturday afternoon was impressive nonetheless.

The new-look Bronchos – with eight newcomers on the active 15-player roster – displayed incredible grit in pulling out a 28-26, 27-25, 25-27, 25-22 victory over the Division I Golden Eagles.

"I thought we fought hard today," 12th-year head coach Edgar Miraku said. "We didn't necessarily play that great, but we really competed at a high level. We used a lot of players and it was good to get them that experience as we get close to starting the season."

UCO was a record-setting 33-3 last season in advancing to the Division II Volleyball Championship quarterfinals, but graduated several key players. The Bronchos will host a series of scrimmages next weekend before opening the season Sept. 4-6 at the Patriot Classic in Tyler, Texas.

Senior veterans Sydney Huck and Lindsey Houran played just the first three sets and led UCO in Saturday's win. Huck collected 13 kills and eight digs, while Houran had 26 assists, 13 digs, five kills and two service aces.

Kedron Burk – a senior transfer from ORU – hit .429 with 11 kills and just two errors in 21 attacks in addition to making three assisted blocks. The Bronchos also got seven kills and four total blocks from senior returner Mikiah Perdue.

Freshman Kamryn Glover knocked down six kills, junior Sawyer Franz had five kills and junior Riley Roberts served up three aces in addition to making eight digs.

The Bronchos grabbed a 9-4 lead in the first set after a Roberts ace, but ORU used an 11-3 run to go ahead 15-12. The Golden Eagles were up 23-21 before Franz and Huck had kills in a 3-0 spurt that put UCO on top 24-23.

Oral Roberts went ahead 26-25, but two consecutive errors gave the Bronchos the lead and Houran's ace sealed UCO's 28-26 win.

The Golden Eagles led throughout most of the second set after taking an early 11-4 lead and was on the verge of ending the set after making it 24-21.

But the Bronchos wouldn't go away, pulling even on a Burk kill and consecutive aces by Kaitlyn Parrott. It was tied again at 25-all before back-to-back kills by Houran and Glover gave UCO the 27-25 victory.

ORU overcame an early deficit to claim the third set and the fourth set was a back-and-forth battle throughout, featuring14 ties and 10 lead changes.

The Bronchos went ahead to stay at 22-21 on a combined block by Perdue and Glover. It was a 23-22 lead when Glover knocked down her final kill and Roberts followed with a set- and match-ending ace.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#1 Lindsey Houran: S; 5' 8"; Junior

#14 Sydney Huck: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#9 Kaitlyn Parrott: DS/L; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#15 Mikiah Perdue: MB; 5' 9"; Junior

#11 Riley Roberts: S; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Sawyer Franz: OH; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#3 Kedron Burk: MB; 6' 2"; Senior

#7 Kamryn Glover: OH/RS; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Lindsey Houran
: 5' 8"; Junior
: S

#14 Sydney Huck
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#9 Kaitlyn Parrott
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: DS/L

#15 Mikiah Perdue
: 5' 9"; Junior
: MB

#11 Riley Roberts
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: S

#6 Sawyer Franz
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: OH

#3 Kedron Burk
: 6' 2"; Senior
: MB

#7 Kamryn Glover
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH/RS