Efficient Lady Bison Dispatch SAU

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Box Score (html)
 
SHAWNEE – The Lady Bison had their most efficient attacking match of conference play this season as they knocked off Southern Arkansas, 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-18), on Thursday night inside the Noble Complex. As a result of the win, Oklahoma Baptist took sole possession of first place, a half-game ahead of second place.
 
Nicole Fleitman put in a dominating performance, swinging .500 with 17 kills against just two attacking errors. Her .500 hitting percentage stands as the highest percentage by a Lady Bison this season. The sophomore right-side hitter also posted one block assist.
 
Oklahoma Baptist raced out the gates, taking a quick 8-4 lead following a Sophia Couto score. The Muleriders eventually tied the set up at 13-13 following an OBU error, but the Lady Bison got back-to-back kills off the combination of Kynnedy Myers and Fleitman to regain the lead. After SAU took a 20-19 lead deep in the first, Shekinah Sharpe sparked a 6-1 run that was capped by a combo block by Cadyn Laing and Myers to give OBU a one-set lead, 25-21.
 
Despite five kills from Sharpe and three from Fleitman in the second frame, OBU had little luck gaining traction in the set. As a result, the match was tied up by SAU, 1-1, heading into the intermission.
 
The intermission proved just the tonic necessary to rekindle the Lady Bison offense, as Fleitman and Sharpe combined for four kills early on to give OBU a 10-5 lead. A four-point flurry that saw kills by Adonica Wright, Fleitman and Myers, as well as a block by Laing and Wright, eventually put OBU up by seven points at 18-11. Wright laid down a kill soon after to bring it to set point, and though SAU fought off the finishing blow once, Laing received a perfect feed from Myers to take the set, and a 2-1 lead, into the fourth frame.
 
With their backs against the wall, SAU ripped off four quick points before Fleitman and Wright could team up for three themselves. Though the deficit for OBU would again rise to four points at 8-4, Laing forced a blocking error by the Muleriders to give Darby Maclea serve. Two aces were the result of Maclea's first three serves of the set as she attacked SAU's Hannah Rice, and OBU briefly gained the advantage, though the teams would find themselves knotted up at 10-all sooner after. Laing was next to hold serve, helping Oklahoma Baptist create a three-point gap; it would prove all OBU would need thanks to Myers chipping in with five kills on eight attempts late in frame.
 
Up 19-15 following a handling error by SAU setter Katy Cooper, Maclea again entered the match and delivered off a lethal serve. Back-to-back aces put OBU up 22-15, and the Lady Bison would inch ever closer to victory following a block by Laing and Myers. Laing brought the contest to match point at 24-17, and though SAU won back the serve, it was Myers who took a dish from Maclea to put the finishing touches on a 3-1 win.
 
"Kynnedy and Nicole worked really well together tonight," said OBU head coach Anna Howle. "We've been working on how to get Nicole to be more successful. Our middles also did a great job drawing the block away from Nicole.
 
"We also got some big aces from Darby. I thought she made a big difference for us, just serving tough, and propelling us through that fourth set when we didn't start very well."
 
While Fleitman led everyone on the floor with 17 kills, Sharpe and Myers also reached double figures at 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Sharpe posted a double-double, matching her kill total with a team-best 13 digs, while Myers handed out 38 assists to go along with her 10 kills.
 
Defensively, Sierra VeraCruz was second on the team with 12 digs, and Maclea tallied 10 to go along with her career-best five aces. Her five service aces are tied for the sixth-most in a single match in school history. Laing had a match-high five total blocks.
 
Oklahoma Baptist (13-8, 7-1 GAC) returns to the fray tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 14, for a 6 p.m. match with Arkansas-Monticello in the Noble Complex.
 
"We're going to have to play really well. Arkansas-Monticello is on the up-and-up and are doing some good things. We'll have to defend well, serve tough, pass well and terminate when we get the opportunity."