Late Rally Pushes Lady Bison past SAU

Box Score (html)
 
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist volleyball used a late rally to put to bed an upset bid by Southern Arkansas, dropping the Lady Muleriders in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-13), on Friday night inside the W.T. Watson Center in Magnolia, Arkansas.
 
After closing out the first set on a Malia Leatherland kill for a 1-0 lead, OBU went on to drop the next two sets, carrying a 2-1 deficit heading into the fourth frame. The Lady Bison did well to regroup, using a 7-2 run midway through the set to claim the fourth set in decisive fashion and gain momentum heading into the pivotal fifth frame.
 
That momentum was short lived as the Lady Bison would start out the final set down 3-0 before calling a timeout. Out of the timeout, Leatherland picked up another two of her match-high 19 kills, and combined for a block with Sophia Couto, to knot the set up at 5-5. Mikayla Watson and Hayden Blair then traded off setting each other up for a pair of kills to take the lead at the turn, 8-7.
 
Despite a late push by the Lady Muleriders that saw OBU's lead narrow to 11-10, Watson and Cadyn Laing laid down two kills each to seal the win for the Lady Bison.
 
Leatherland led all players with 19 kills, while Laing and Watson each finished with 14. Blair posted 50 assists on the night, while also leading the team with 13 digs. Blair, Leatherland and Watson each finished with a double-double.
 
Oklahoma Baptist (12-9, 7-1 GAC) returns to action tomorrow when they take on Arkansas-Monticello at 1 p.m. inside Steelman Fieldhouse in Monticello, Arkansas.