KEARNEY, Neb. – An historic season that saw Oklahoma Baptist claim its first NCAA Tournament berth and Great American Conference title came to a close on Thursday night as the No. 8-seeded Bison fell to No. 1-seed Nebraska-Kearney, 3-0 (21-25, 17-25, 16-25).
In a first set that featured nine ties and six lead changes, it was a late trio of points by the Lopers that eventually tilted the opening frame in favor of the No. 1 seed at 17-15. Though the Bison drew within one at 18-17 off a kill by
Hayley Daniel from
Kaylee Buell's feed, UNK would score consecutive points to win the first set, 25-21, and take a 1-0 lead.
Malia Leatherland laid down six kills to open the match.
A pair of
Taneyah Brown kills gave OBU an early lead to open the second frame, but the Bison suffered a lapse that saw them commit four straight errors to give the Lopers a 7-2 lead and force an early timeout by
Anna Howle. Out of the timeout, Leatherland and Daniel scored on back-to-back points in an attempt to wrestle momentum away from UNK, but the Lopers countered by doing just enough to keep some sure-kills by OBU alive and steal the points for themselves. Daniel scrapped to keep OBU in it, scoring an additional three kills, but the Bison would ultimately fall, 25-17, to enter the third stanza looking up at a 2-0 hole.
Undeterred by the deficit, OBU got out to a 4-1 lead, including two points for
Audrey Poupard off a kill and a block in tandem with Brown. Nursing a 7-6 lead, Oklahoma Baptist suddenly went cold and allowed the Lopers to go on a 6-0 run that included three errors by the Bison. Never able to fully recover, OBU would eventually fall, 25-16. It's the only time this season OBU has been swept.
Brown led the way offensively, laying down 11 kills while swinging .364 for the match. Leatherland was second on the team, collecting her 20th double-double – and seventh-straight – with a 10-kill, 15-dig performance.
Rylen Moore handed out 20 assists.
Oklahoma Baptist closes the season with a 28-6 overall record and is primed to run it back next year as the team returns every starter and significant reserve outside of
Rachel Richie. Richie, who played her final match in the Green-and-Gold, is set to graduate with an education degree in May.
