SHAWNEE – Saturday afternoon's Great American Conference match for No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist against Southern Arkansas brought a dominating win for the green and gold. OBU won 3-0 against the Muleriders and moved its record to 14-3 and 7-2 in the GAC.
There were contributions from many. Six different players hit at least .429 with
Destiny AbuBakir-Temple leading the way with a .556 attack mark and five kills. Middle blocker
Avery Hellmuth tied for the match high with eight kills while five others recorded multiple kills.
Kaylee Buell and
Rylen Moore paced the offense for a combined 35 assists and defensively,
Diana Carranza contributed a match-high 16 digs. Plus, the Bison saw Hellmuth, AbuBakir-Temple and
Taneyah Brown record multiple blocks as the team held the visiting Muleriders to a .069 attack percentage.
The Bison trailed only twice in the match and by the end, ran their series record to 6-0 over SAU.
In the first, OBU's offense was not slowed down by the visitors. The Bison got six kills and an ace from
Malia Leatherland as the team hit .385. In the beginning of the set, back-to-back kills from Hellmuth made the tally 11-5. Near the end, Leatherland scored three points including a set-ending ace to help the home squad win 25-17.
At the beginning stages of the second, OBU and SAU were tied 5-5 before a massive run. Brown keyed a 9-1 stretch for the Bison with two kills and an ace. Her efforts helped the team attain a 14-6 advantage which eventually led to a 25-11, set-two win.
Jenna West helped OBU early in the third. A pair of kills aided the Bison to an 8-3 lead and later, back-to-back aces from Brown moved the scoreboard to 14-5. By the end of the set,
Justi Rusk closed the match with a kill, bringing the count to 25-18.
Next on the schedule for Oklahoma Baptist is a two-game road swing. On Oct. 21, the Bison visit Henderson State and the next day, face Ouachita.
