Dominant Start to 2016 for Volleyball

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Box Score (html)
 
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A fast start allowed the Lady Bison of Oklahoma Baptist Volleyball to claim a straight-set victory over the University of North Carolina-Pembroke to start the 2016 season. Six different Lady Bison recorded at least one kill in the season-opening win.
 
Nicole Fleitman and Taylor Williams got Lady Bison the lead early in the first set off dishes by Kynnedy Myers. Though the Braves pulled within one at 8-7, a kill and an ace by freshman Mikayla Watson reestablished the comfortable lead for the Lady Bison. A kill by Shekinah Sharpe kicked off a seven-point swing for OBU, and Cadyn Laing hit home the final kill of the set to claim a 1-0 victory at 25-14.
 
The second set was the most tightly contested of the match as Oklahoma Baptist saw a 9-2 lead, thanks partly to four points off the combination of Myers and Watson, evaporate when the Braves took the lead for the first time at 23-22 deep in the set. The Lady Bison regained the lead off an attack error by UNCP's Alexis Dunham, but the Braves fought off the set point. Oklahoma Baptist then survived a set point of their own at 25-24 thanks to a service error by the Braves, and clinched the set off kills by Fleitman and Watson with Sierra VeraCruz holding serve.
 
Into the third set, OBU again saw their lead disappear, but were able to rally back yet again. Trailing 14-13 midway through what would prove to be the final set, the Lady Bison ripped off three straight points. Laing recorded another kill to put Oklahoma Baptist up for good at 17-16. Katrina Horner produced a service ace on match point to give OBU their first win of the year.
 
"I thought, as a team, we played pretty." Said OBU head coach Anna Howle. "It was nice to get the nerves out of the way with such a new group. Mikayla and Nicole played really well, and I thought our serve really challenged our opponent."
 
Watson, playing her first match in the green-and-gold, paced the team with 16 kills against just two errors while hitting .467 for the match. Fleitman was second on the team with 12, while Sharpe laid down seven kills to go along with 12 digs. Myers recorded a double-double with 39 assists and 12 digs. Watson and Williams led the team with three block assists each.
 
The Lady Bison return for their second match of the day at 5:30 Eastern Daylight Time against Kentucky State.