Volleyball Clips Eagles to Wrap First Day

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – (HTML Box Score) Oklahoma Baptist volleyball started 2-0 for the third straight season with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21) victory over Embry-Riddle in the Bahama House Classic Friday night.
 
Nicole Fleitman continued her hot start to the season with a triple-double, racking up 11 kills, 14 assists and 13 digs. Fleitman earned a double-double in both matches played Friday. As a team, the Lady Bison finished with a .211 attack percentage while holding the Eagles to .084.
 
OBU trailed the first set 15-16 before an 8-3 run gave them the lead for good. Redshirt freshman Mikayla Watson and freshman libero Kelsi Chavez closed out the opening frame with back-to-back kills to put the Lady Bison on the board early.
 
An efficient second set saw the Lady Bison open up a 2-0 lead over ERAU after hitting .387 for the set. Freshman Malia Leatherland capped off the second set with a kill for the final point.
 
Embry-Riddle took a closely contested third set to force a fourth frame in the match. OBU jumped out to an early 10-4 lead in the decisive fourth set and led the Eagles by as much as eight, the largest margin for either side all night. The Lady Bison cruised to a four-point victory to take the set and the match.
 
Leatherland finished with 12 kills to lead all players and was one of three players wearing green and gold with double-digit kills. Watson finished with 10 kills and Hayden Blair posted her second straight double-double with 26 assists and 12 digs. Chavez collected 19 digs and senior Cadyn Laing finished with seven block assists and a solo block.
 
OBU will wrap up opening weekend Saturday with another two matches. The Lady Bison will face Missouri S&T at 11 a.m. Central before finishing the Florida road trip with a meeting against Lynn at 3 p.m. Central.