KISSIMMEE, Florida - Oklahoma Baptist stormed back to defeat top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan in five sets after dropping the first two sets Friday morning at the NCCAA Volleyball National Championship.
The fourth-seeded Lady Bison clinched the top spot in Pool "A" with the 3-2 victory (23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-13), in a marathon of a match that lasted two hours and 22 minutes at the Kissimmee Civic Center.
After the Wildcats took the first set, OBU responded by taking a 20-15 lead in the second set, but IWU closed on a 10-1 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Lady Bison found themselves in a 7-1 hole to begin the third set before head coach
Anna Howle called a timeout. OBU surged out of the break with a 6-0 run to even up the score.
"I told them that they had to play fearless. Instead of playing to not lose, go after it and take it. And if you make a mistake it doesn't matter, you just have to go after it, be aggressive and don't overthink but just come out and be a great team," said Howle when asked what she told her team during the timeout.
OBU later trailed 15-19 late in the set and fought back to tie it up at 21-21. A long and hard-fought set ultimately saw OBU come out on top and give the Lady Bison new life. Riding the momentum from the third set victory, OBU took control of the fourth set and forced a decisive fifth set.
Taylor Bunger served up back-to-back aces to open up the fifth set, starting a 4-1 run. OBU never trailed in the fifth and stretched the lead to as many as four points on the way to taking the set and sealing the match.
"I think the win showed [the Lady Bison] how important it is to battle and to not have any fear and just to go for it. I hope that's what we learned from that match," remarked Howle.
Senior
Carey Strong recorded her third triple-double of the season, registering 13 kills, 10 assists, and 19 digs. She is now tied for fifth among all NCAA Division II players in total triple-doubles this year.
Cat Roth added 13 kills,
Kate Decker had 11 kills and 13 digs, and
Kynnedy Myers finished with 38 assists and 23 digs in the five-set win.
Kaitlyn Lucy posted 21 digs to bring her season total to 921, just 11 away from tying the NCAA Division II single-season record under the current rules format.
"We're being aggressive, and we're moving on, and we're having fun and working together and I'm excited to see what the rest of the tournament brings for us," said Howle.
Indiana Wesleyan falls to 34-8 on the season and will advance to the semi-final round to face the three seed Colorado Christian tonight.
The Lady Bison, now 26-12, will face second-seeded Southern Wesleyan in the first semi-final match of the night at 4:30 p.m. Central.
