Lady Bison Muzzle Bulldogs in Straight Sets

SHAWNEE – (HTML Box Score) Oklahoma Baptist defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State in straight sets 3-0 (25-0, 25-18, 25-21) Tuesday night in a Great American Conference volleyball match at the Noble Complex.
 
The Lady Bison (16-12, 10-3 GAC) evened the season series with the Bulldogs (11-18, 6-7 GAC) after falling in Weatherford earlier this year. An OBU win paired with a Northwestern Oklahoma State loss tonight kept the Lady Bison in third place in the conference standings. Oklahoma Baptist is two games clear of Northwestern in the loss column with three contests remaining on the schedule.
 
OBU led by as many as seven points and took an early 1-0 set lead in a wire-to-wire first set victory. After SWOSU won the first point of the second set, the Lady Bison scored the next five and never trailed again as they cruised to a win. A 9-1 OBU run in the third opened up a 17-12 lead. The Bulldogs tied it up at 21-21 but the Lady Bison slammed the door shut with four straight points to take the set and seal the match.
 
Reigning GAC Offensive Player of the Week Mikayla Watson paced the Lady Bison with her 17^th double-double of the season, collecting 19 kills and 10 digs while attacking at an impressive .364 hitting percentage. Hayden Blair matched the OBU season-high for assists in a three-set match with 40 and freshman Malia Leatherland had a match-high 17 digs. The Lady Bison finished with 9.0 blocks to only 7.0 for the Bulldogs. Sophia Couto added seven block assists in the win.
 
More GAC competition awaits the Lady Bison Thursday as they host Northwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in the Noble Complex. OBU won the first meeting of the season 3-1 in Alva on Sept. 12. Live stats and video will be available at obubison.com.