Oklahoma Baptist finished its stay at the MIAA-GAC Classic with a 3-2 win over Northwest Missouri State Saturday, winning 25-21, 22-25, 15-25, 28-26, 15-8.
After winning the opening set, the Lady Bison found themselves on the brink of a winless trip to Missouri. Down 2-1 in sets and trailing the fourth set 15-8, the Lady Bison climbed back into contention.
The Bearcats had a 20-16 lead, but Denise Coroiescu got a kill, followed by three NMSU attack errors to tie the game.
Northwest Missouri went up 22-20 before Nicole Fleitman stopped the streak with a kill and Carey Strong added two more for a 23-22 OBU lead.
NMSU wrested the lead back from OBU, 24-23, and served for match point, but Strong added another kill to force extra play.
The Bearcats took a 26-25 lead, but Strong again answered with a kill and Cat Roth finished the set with a kill and the 28-26 win.
OBU used that rally and jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the deciding set, including two aces by Strong and two kills each by Roth and Coroiescu. The Lady Bison cruised in from there for the win.
Coroiescu had 17 kills to lead OBU, while Roth added as and Strong 10. Strong had three aces and Kynnedy Myers added 42 assists.
Defensively, OBU got 28 digs from Kaitlyn Lucy, 15 from Myers and a dozen from Strong. Myers was in on three blocks.
Now 6-7, the Lady Bison return home and return to Great American Conference action Tuesday against Southeastern Oklahoma State. First serve is 7 p.m.
