SHAWNEE – The final nonconference action of the season, as well as a pair of critical Great American Conference matchups, is on tap for the Bison volleyball team this week.
Oklahoma Baptist kicks off the week against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. The Bison then turn around to host Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist over the week, with the Reddies coming to Mabee Arena inside the Noble Complex on Friday, Oct. 11 for a 6 p.m. matchup before the Tigers visit to close out the week on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11:30 a.m.
The Bison, sitting at 15-3 overall, are currently riding an 11-match winning streak and are the GAC's last remaining unbeaten team in league play at 5-0. Oklahoma Baptist's been dominant at home, having yet to drop a match at 7-0. On the road, OBU owns a 4-2 record.
Hitting .238 this season, OBU boasts the GAC's most efficient attack while averaging 13.51 kills/set.
Malia Leatherland leads OBU, and is second in the conference, with an average of 3.38.
Hayley Daniel, also in the top 8 in the conference in kills/set, is second on the team at a 3.17 clip.
Rylen Moore and
Kaylee Buell have done a great job setting up the Bison offense, averaging 7.02 and 4.59 assists/set, respectively. As a team, OBU leads the league with 12.48 assists/set.
On the defensive end, the Bison leads the GAC with an opponent hitting percentage of .140 with opponents averaging 10.85 kills/set.
Diana Carranza leads the defensive effort from the back row, averaging 5.05 digs/set.
Julia Brinton has 31 total blocks for the season, averaging .97 blocks/set.
Arkansas-Fort Smith enters Tuesday's match with a 12-3 record. The Lions are averaging 13.3 kills/set, paced by 3.78 kills/set from Anna Demmer. Lexy Lewis is the top defensive performer for UAFS with an average of 3.86 digs/set.
Henderson State is 9-9 overall with a 2-3 mark in league play. An average team on offense, the Reddies are seventh in the league with an average of 11.56 kills/set and are led by Courtney Bolf's average of 3.16 kills/set. MaKenzie Thoman is fifth in the league with 4.66 digs/set.
Ouachita Baptist is tied for second in the GAC with a 4-1 mark in league play, and is 9-7 overall. Averaging 11.74 kills/set, the Tigers are sixth in the category. They're led offensively by Adrianna Nolly's 2.90 kills/set. Lexie Castillow is averaging 4.79 digs/set to lead Ouachita's defensive effort.
