Lady Bison Soothe Savage Storm

Box Score (html)
 
DURANT, Oklahoma – Oklahoma Baptist volleyball moved to 2-0 in conference play with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-19) sweep of Southeastern Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in Durant at Bloomer Sullivan Gym. It is the fourth straight season for OBU to start 2-0 in Great American Conference action since joining the league in 2015.
 
With the win, OBU is one of three teams sitting atop the GAC standings at a perfect 2-0 in the early portion of league play.
 
Oklahoma Baptist took advantage of the Savage Storm's errors to claim victory on the night, keeping SOSU to just a .087 hitting percentage. The Lady Bison also scored nine aces and forced 13 attack errors.
 
The Lady Bison were firing out the gate, laying down 12 kills while hitting .414 as a team despite finding themselves in a quick 3-0 hole. Mikayla Watson scored OBU's first point, sparking a 4-1 run that tied the match early, before another early 4-0 run that featured kills by Malia Leatherland and Watson, as well as a Jenna Gremmel ace, to put OBU up 8-5. The Lady Bison would surrender just six more points to SOSU for the rest of the set, the fewest points allowed in a set by OBU this season, and claim a 25-11 victory in the opening frame.
 
In the second frame, the proceedings were tightly contested and the score was tied 15-all at the midway point. Alex Felkins laid down a kill on either side of a Southeastern attack error to give OBU some breathing room before another string of SOSU errors gave the Lady Bison a 22-17 advantage. Taylor Williams set up set point with Elyce Clark serving, before Nicole Fleitman closed the door with sixth kill of the evening.
 
Oklahoma Baptist used strong play at the net to clinch the decisive third set, compiling five blocks in the set to close out the match, including back-to-back blocks by Brecken Roquemore with help from Watson and Felkins to push OBU's late advantage to 19-15. Roquemore laid down a kill to regain the serve for OBU, and with Clark once again holding serve, the Lady Bison were the beneficiaries of two more SOSU errors to claim match point.
 
Leatherland finished with a team-high nine kills, followed by Watson with seven. Gremmel led the team with 17 assists, while Hayden Blair handed out 15 helpers. Blair and Gremmell also both tallied three aces for the match.
 
On the defensive front, OBU recorded 45 digs as a team. Kelsi Chavez had a team-high 14, and Watson and Leatherland combined for 21. Three Lady Bison had at least one solo block, paced by Roquemore with two and Felkins and Fleitman with one each.
 
Oklahoma Baptist (7-8, 2-0 GAC) return to action on Thursday when they host Southern Nazarene in rivalry action at Mabee Arena inside the Noble Complex. First serve is set for 7 p.m.