SHAWNEE – With Great American Conference Tournament trip guaranteed, Oklahoma Baptist enters the penultimate week looking to consolidate their spot at the top of the standings with a home match against East Central and road bout against Southern Nazarene. The Bison will host ECU on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 PM before turning around and making the trip to Bethany to face the Crimson Storm in rivalry action on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 PM.
During Tuesday's home match, OBU will be hosting a canned food drive in conjunction with Community Market. Fans who bring a canned food item will be able to purchase a half-price ticket to get into the match against the Tigers.
The Bison enter Tuesday's contest riding a six-match winning streak and boast a 22-4 overall record. It's the tenth time since OBU head coach
Anna Howle revived the program in 2008 that she has led the Bison to 20 or more wins in a season.
Led by
Malia Leatherland (3.75 kills/set) and
Hayley Daniel (2.98 kills/set), OBU ranks fifth in Division II with 1,624 total kills. Leatherland enters the week just 28 kills shy of moving into fourth all-time in the category.
With 1,188 total assists this season, OBU also ranks fourth nationally in the category.
Rylen Moore is averaging 7.23 assists/set in her debut season on Bison Hill, but is averaging 9.91 assists/set over her last three matches.
Defensively, opponents are swinging just .135 against the Bison while averaging 10.8 kills/set.
Diana Carranza has a team-high 4.93 digs/set, followed by Daniel's 3.18 average.
Julia Brinton and
Audrey Poupard are averaging .96 and .94 blocks/set, respectively.
The Tigers, 2-25 overall, visit Shawnee owning a 10-match losing streak. Zaniya Norvell leads the offense with an average of 2.04 kills/set, while Kasey Beeler paces the defense with 4.21 digs/set. Oklahoma Baptist dropped ECU in straight sets in Ada in September.
Southern Nazarene boasts a 19-8 record, and own a three-match winning streak heading into the week. The Crimson Storm averages 13.4 kills/set, led by Bailee Turang and Kayla Thomas with 3.89 and 2.90 kills/set, respectively. Logan Matthews has a team-high 4.14 digs/set.
