OBU Falls to Harding in Five-Set Thriller

SHAWNEE – (HTML Box Score) It took five sets to decide the outcome, but Oklahoma Baptist fell 2-3 (16-25, 26-24, 27-25, 19-25, 12-15) to Harding in a battle for second place in the Great American Conference Friday night at the Noble Complex.
 
After dropping the first set, the Lady Bison (13-11, 8-3 GAC) found themselves trailing 17-24 late in the second set. Senior Cadyn Laing stepped up to the service line and immediately picked up an ace to swing the momentum in favor of OBU. Kills from Mikayla Watson and Malia Leatherland cut the deficit to three points at 21-24.
 
A solo block from Hayden Blair and a couple of attack errors from Harding tied the set at 24-24, and Brenna Holley and Blair combined for a block to give OBU a one-point advantage. Holley would pick up one of her six kills on the night to complete the comeback with a 9-0 run to close out the frame.
 
The Lady Bison won a back-and forth third set to take a 2-1 lead, but a 10-3 run from Harding (21-3, 9-1 GAC) to finish the fourth forced a decisive fifth set. Neither team led by more than three points in the final frame as HU sealed the match and took a firm grasp of second place in the conference standings heading into the final stretch of the season.
 
Four different OBU players finished with double-doubles, including Watson with a match- and season-high 21 kills and 19 digs. Blair provided a season-high 55 assists and 21 digs, Laing posted 16 kills and 14 digs and Leatherland finished with 13 kills and 15 digs. Freshman Kelsi Chavez posted a career-high 31 digs after taking over libero duties beginning in the second set. Holley paced the team with five total blocks, doubling her season output in the process. 
 
Oklahoma Baptist begins the last leg of the GAC schedule on Thursday, Oct. 26 in a road match against East Central at 7 p.m. OBU defeated the Tigers in straight sets in their first meeting of the season on Sept. 26.