SHAWNEE – The Bison are set for a busy week of action, first traveling to Edmond to take on No. 22 Central Oklahoma on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Oklahoma Baptist then makes the trip to Dallas and Denton over the weekend for the Patriot/Pioneer Tournament hosted jointly by Dallas Baptist and Texas Woman's.
Oklahoma Baptist will open the Patriot/Pioneer Tournament against Pace on Friday, Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. on DBU's campus before playing the Patriots later that day at 2 p.m. The Bison will then travel to Denton to face TWU at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, and will close out the tournament against Eastern New Mexico at 2 p.m.
After closing out the Loper Pre-Season Invite with a 3-1 win over Findlay last Saturday, OBU currently sits at 2-2. Both of OBU's wins have finished in four sets.
Averaging 12.3 kills/set, the Bison currently own a plus-.5 scoring margin and are hitting .185 through 17 sets. Malia Leatherland paces all Bison players with 3.29 kills/set, and Hayley Daniel has provided 3.0 kills/set as well. Taneyah Brown has provided a capable third option early in the season, laying down 2.25 kills/set.
The attacking trio has been helped along by the service of Rylen Moore and Kaylee Buell. Moore is averaging 7.29 assists/set, with Buell chipping in with an average of 3.82 assists.
Newcomer Diana Carranza has assumed libero duties and leads all Bison with 5.29 digs/set. Daniel and Leatherland have proven just as capable on the back row as the front, averaging 3.12 and 3.06 digs/set, respectively. Up front, Audrey Poupard currently averages 1.20 blocks/set. The Bison's opponents are hitting .178.
Central Oklahoma opened the season with a 3-1 mark at the Eckerd Invitational. The tandem of Lauren Jenkins and Bailey Combs lead the Bronchos with 3.08 and 3.07 kills/set. They've enjoyed the service of Amanda Desch, who's averaging 8.07 assists/set. Dominique Lipari leads UCO with 5.36 digs/set.
Pace is currently 0-3 and has yet to win a set this season. Sandra Yang is the Setters' leading offensive threat at 2.22 kills/set. Danielle Vaiano has been busy in the back averaging 3.44 digs/set.
The Patriots are 1-3 after the opening weekend of the season, including a loss to No. 8 Northern State. Emma Eakin paces the attack at 2.85 kills/set. A trio of setters has kept opposing defenses guessing, with Strealy Sizelove, Macey Winburn, and Kayla Brock averaging 5.77, 2.70 and 2.00 assists/set, respectively. Alyssa Pevehouse leads all Patriots with 3.23 digs/set.
Texas Woman's is 2-2, including wins over Quincy and William Jewell. Addison Mulroney and Trixie Oche average at least 2.0 kills/set for the Pioneers. The Pioneers are stout defensively at the net, with Bailey Wozniak, Trixie Oche and Courtney Noel all averaging 1.19 blocks/set or greater.
Eastern New Mexico wrapped up a west coast trip with a 1-3 record to open 2019. Despite the record, the Greyhounds have a potent three-headed attack in Lauren Bresnahan (3.60 kills/set), Jasmine Gannon (3.07 kills/set) and Adriana Puni (3.00 kills/set). Defensively, Puni leads ENMU at 2.67 blocks/set, while Qitana Sapiga has cleaned up the floor with 6.00 digs/set.
