Freshman Tyler Henderson tallied 18 kills to lead the Golden Hurricane to a 3-0 defeat of Tulane in the C-USA Championship semifinals. TU advances to face Rice in the C-USA title game Sunday at 1 p.m. on CBS C.

Women's Volleyball Home HEADLINES Jennifer Eichler Named C-USA Spirit of Service Award Winner Henderson Named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America Henderson Named Regional Freshman of the Year; Three TU Volleyball Players Earn AVCA All-Region Honors RELATED LINKS • Follow all of the college volleyball action at CollegeSports.com • Email this to a friend

Volleyball Advances to C-USA Title Match with 3-0 Win over Tulane

No. 2 seed Golden Hurricane faces host and No. 4 seed Rice Sunday at 1 p.m. on CBS C

Nov. 21, 2009

Box Score

HOUSTON - Tyler Henderson hit a match-high 18 kills, Jennifer Eichler added 11 kills, and Jessica Adams tallied a match-high 18 digs to vault The University of Tulsa volleyball team into the title match of the 2009 Conference USA Championship with a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) over No. 3 seed Tulane Saturday afternoon at Rice's Tudor Fieldhouse.

The second-seeded Golden Hurricane (26-6) will take on host and No. 4 seed Rice Sunday at 1 p.m. in the championship match that will be televised by CBS College Sports. Live stats will also be available at www.TulsaHurricane.com, and all C-USA Championship information can be found at www.ConferenceUSA.com. Tulsa defeated Rice twice this season, and the two teams have never met during the C-USA postseason.

Henderson, the 2009 C-USA Freshman of the Year, hit .300 and added four digs and three blocks, while Eichler, the C-USA Player of the Year, hit .409 with her 11 kills, adding nine digs and three blocks. Freshman Jordan Clampitt recorded 19 assists and six digs, and sophomore Rachel Vukson tallied 17 assists and five digs. Outside hitter Kelsey Hancock and middle blockers Julia Kenealy and Hannah Stout combined for 11 kills and nine block assists.

Tulsa hit .255 as a team (42-15-106) with 42 kills, 42 assists, 52 digs and 9.0 blocks. The Golden Hurricane held Tulane to less than a .100 attack percentage, as the Green Wave hit .096 for the match (35-24-114) with 35 kills, 32 assists, 43 digs and 5.5 blocks.

"This was by far our strongest defensive effort," Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. "In our first two matches with them we also played well defensively. It was certainly a much stronger defensive effort, and we held them under .100 (hitting percentage) for the match. Offensively we were extremely consistent. We got production out of the people we are accustomed to leaning on, Tyler Henderson and Jen Eichler as well as Kelsey Hancock. It was a collective team effort and our ability to serve the ball tough and serve the people that we wanted in particular rotations was critical to allowing our defense to play strong."

Tulsa broke open a 10-10 tie in the first set with three straight points to move ahead, 13-10. Tulane fought back to tie the score again, but with the set knotted at 16 apiece, the Golden Hurricane ran off six consecutive points to take a 22-16 lead. TU cruised to a 25-19 set win.

Tulsa opened the second set with two quick points, and opened up a 9-4 lead with a 5-0 run. The Golden Hurricane held on to its five- to six-point lead, and extended it to as much as eight points at 19-11. From there, Tulane got only as close as four points. With a 22-18 lead, TU scored three of the final four points to win the set, 25-19.

Set three was back-and-forth for the first half, as the teams tied 10 times and exchanged the lead three times. Tulane held a 13-11 lead, but Tulsa scored three straight to take over the advantage for good at 14-13. The Green Wave quickly tied the score again, but the Golden Hurricane went on a 5-0 run to break away for a 19-14 lead. The Hurricane held steady to its lead, but Tulane scored three in a row to make the score 23-20. However, TU scored kills from Henderson and Eichler for the final two points to win, 25-20.

For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook - search "Tulsa Golden Hurricane."