DURANT, Okla. – No. 23 ranked Oklahoma Baptist took care of business again. This time, on the road in Savage Storm territory, the Bison made quick work of Southeastern 3-0 inside Bloomer Sullivan Gymnasium on Thursday night.
The night belonged to senior Malia Leatherland as she rewrote the Great American Conference record books to become the all-time career points leader in league history. Leatherland's 11.5 points tonight gave her 1,847 points in her illustrious career in the green and gold. She passes the likes of Carly Zak, of Southwestern Oklahoma State, who set the mark at 1,842.5 points back in 2016.
Tonight makes eight straight wins for nationally ranked OBU, including 3-0 sweeps in five out of their last seven matches. Oklahoma Baptist retains their top spot in the Great American Conference, with only a couple of matches remaining in the regular season.
Avery Hellmuth and Malia Leatherland led the way with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Diana Carranza turned in a team-best 18 digs, while Leatherland added 10 digs to her stat sheet. Additionally, Kaylee Buell tallied a team-high 38 assists, while Kaelyn Ina recorded nine digs.
In the first set, the Bison (19-3, 12-2 GAC) fought off a fiesty Savage Storm squad, as the lead switched sides 24 total times. The two were neck-and-neck midway through the first until a Taryn Weber kill sparked a 3-0 OBU run, resulting in a 13-9 green and gold lead. Oklahoma Baptist then capitalized off a SEOSU service error to score five straight. There wasn't much for Southeastern could do afterwards as the Bison finished the set off 25-14, courtesy of another Weber kill.
The Savage Storm made OBU work for every point as the squads traded blows until the Bison tallied five straight to take a 15-10 lead. Southeastern wouldn't go away as they progressively crept their way back into the match. After a 3-0 SEOSU run that included two kills, the Savage Storm only trailed OBU by two, 23-21. The mighty Bison regained control and put another set away 25-22.
Despite an early Southeastern push in the final set, Oklahoma Baptist got in rhythm to score six straight to take a 6-2 lead. The Savage Storm stuck around for a few more, but OBU wrapped things up 25-14, featuring a 6-0 run, capped off by an Avery Hellmuth kill.
Oklahoma Baptist returns home for their final two matches of the regular season next Tuesday and Thursday.
