Senior outside hitter Kayley Cassaday entered The University of Tulsa record books with the fourth-most career kills (1,281) and the second-most total attacks (1,646) in a single season as the Tulsa volleyball team fell Friday in the season finale to the SMU Mustangs (22-10, 15-5 AAC) in straight sets (25-27, 18-25, 13-25) on the road in Dallas.
Cassaday—a native of Overland Park, Kan., who has at least one more year of eligibility—also finishes the 2022 regular season as the nation’s leader in attacks per set at 14.07.
During Friday’s loss to the Mustangs, Cassaday led the Hurricane attack with 11 kills on the day. Defensively, libero Marta Pecalli chipped in nine digs to go with three blocks from middle blocker Camryn Lingenbrink.
Tulsa finishes the season with a 13-18 overall record and a 6-13 record in American Athletic Conference play.
Game Notes
» Kayley Cassaday scored the lone Tulsa service ace in the loss.
» Setters Avery Kalsu (14) and Brayden Hipp (12) combined for 26 assists to boost the Hurricane offense.
» Kayley Cassaday and Marta Pecalli each had a team-high nine digs.
» Final season stat leaders for Tulsa: kills – Kayley Cassaday (525 kills), assists – Avery Kalsu (655), aces – Marta Pecalli (33), digs – Marta Pecalli (573), blocks – Arianna Mongare (60)
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Hurricane dropped a back-and-forth first set, losing 27-25 in a stanza that featured six lead changes and 15 tie scores. Neither team led by more than three points in the set.
SET 2 | Tulsa dropped set two 25-18, digging a 2-0 hole in the match. The Hurricane lost the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way before dropping the set.
SET 3 | Tulsa could not prolong the match and lost 25-13 in set number three. The Hurricane trailed by as many as 12 points as SMU grabbed the advantage for good at 7-6 in a set that was tied up four times before the Mustangs took over the lead.
Tulsa 25 18 13
SMU 27 25 25
Original source can be found here
