Lady Bison End Season in Hot Springs

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – (HTML Box Score) Oklahoma Baptist volleyball wrapped up the 2017 season Friday evening with a 0-3 (23-25, 17-25, 19-25) loss to Harding in the Great American Conference Semifinal match at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
 
The third-seeded Lady Bison (18-15) bowed out of their first-ever GAC postseason appearance to No. 2 Harding (27-5). HU advanced to face the winner between Arkansas Tech and Southern Nazarene Saturday in the GAC Championship.
 
Oklahoma Baptist trailed 18-21 late in the first set before Nicole Fleitman sparked a 5-0 run, with Fleitman picking up four kills during the stretch. Harding answered with four straight points of their own to close out the set and take an early lead. HU extended the lead by taking the second set, scoring the final eight points. OBU fell by six points in the third set to end their GAC postseason run.
 
Mikayla Watson finished with 17 kills, Nicole Fleitman added 10 kills on a .556 hitting percentage and Kelsi Chavez collected 18 digs. Senior Cadyn Laing had nine kills and eight digs.
 
Watson finished with 438 kills for the season, the seventh-highest total in program history. Hayden Blair provided 35 assists Friday to bring her season total to 1248, which ranks sixth all-time for OBU setters. Sophia Couto set a new record for blocks in a season with 143.0 total and a 1.13 per-set average.
 
For seniors Sophia Couto, Madyson Hillis and Cadyn Laing, Friday marked their final match in an Oklahoma Baptist uniform.