TULSA, Okla. – The Golden Eagles came one set short of a season sweep over North Dakota State, falling to the Bison in five sets at home (25-21, 25-27, 17-25, 25-20, 6-15).
 
The Golden Eagles opened set one with three kills, two from Hope Hickman and one from Trinity Freeman. ORU dominated the first set, hitting .406 and logging 15 total kills, five of which were awarded to Freeman while three came from Kedron Burk.
 
The Bison took set two from the Golden Eagles, coming back from a 17-19 deficit. Four service aces from the Golden Eagles proved to be the difference in the set despite ORU logging a .265 hit percentage to the Bison's .216.
 
North Dakota State gained a one set lead after taking set three. The Bison tallied a .416 hitting percentage to the Golden Eagles' .194, too large of a difference for the Golden Eagles to overcome. ORU's eight total errors held them back offensively, leaving too big of a gap between themselves and NDSU.
 
After opening a crucial set four on an 8-1 run, ORU gave up a 6-1 run to NDSU as they cut the Golden Eagle lead to two. The offensive duo of Anzley Rinard and Trinity Freeman helped propel ORU into the fifth set as they logged 10 of the Golden Eagles 14 kills in the set. The Bison and Golden Eagles went back-and-forth to close the set as ORU held onto their lead, forcing set five.
 
ORU struggled in the fifth set, carding seven errors, six of which were attack errors. Six kills from the Bison resulted in an ORU loss as they move into the final stretch of their 2024 season.
 
Match Notes

• Trinity Freeman led the Golden Eagles with 20 kills, her fourth 20+ kill match of the season (eighth of her career) and her 70^th time leading ORU in kills. On the defensive end, Freeman also led the Golden Eagles in digs, carding 17 and her 20^th career match with 10+ digs.
• Anzley Rinard and Hope Hickman also logged double-digit kills, recording 16 and 10, respectively. On top of her 10 kills, Hickman logged two service aces.
• Maite Solabarrieta and Rachel Resta tallied 24 and 21 assists each, logging similar stat lines. Solabarrieta had a stellar defensive performance on the night, carding 10 digs to go along with her 24 assists as she recorded her second double-double of the season and career.
• Breanna Rivas is 23 digs away from 1,000 career digs.
• ORU is three wins away from 1,000 wins as a program.

 
Up Next
The Golden Eagles Travel to Vermillion, South Dakota on Saturday to take on the University of South Dakota Coyotes on Saturday, November 2^nd at 2:00 p.m.
 
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