SHAWNEE – The 6th-ranked Oklahoma Baptist volleyball team celebrated three seniors in pre-game of their final regular season home game and then proceeded to move to 14-0 on the season behind 19 blocks as they defeated East Central in straight sets, 25-18, 25-17, 25-11.
The Bison defense was dominant, holding ECU to 33 kills to go with 31 errors while hitting .013 while OBU finished with 36 kills to only eight errors while hitting an impressive .259. It is the fourth straight match OBU has hit .200 or better.
The Bison held a 19-2 advantage in blocks, a 32-30 edge in assists, and a 63-58 lead in digs.
OBU was in control from the start using a pair of four point rallies in the first set to build a lead as high as seven at 16-9. The Bison withstood a five point rally from East Central and closed the set with three points of their own, forcing ECU into 13 errors in the first to earn a 25-18 victory.
OBU's hitting only improved from there as 13 kills to only three errors in set two helped open up a 17-9 lead en rout to a 25-17 victory.
In the third and final set, OBU was unbelievable offensively, going for 11 kills to only one error for a red-hot .417 hitting percentage and a 25-11 victory to seal the match and send the seniors out with a win.
It was a balanced all-around effort on Tuesday night as
Malia Leatherland led the way with eight kills on .348 hitting to go with nine digs, two block assists, and a solo block while
Brecken Roquemore celebrated her Senior Day with six kills and five block assists.
D'Errick Frierson added five kills and five block assists while
Taneyah Brown had five kills and three block assists.
Kaylee Buell added 21 assists and two block assists while
Rylen Moore had nine, 10 digs, and a solo block.
Diana Carranza had 15 digs while
Kelsi Chavez added 12.
Avery Hellmuth led the way in block assists with eight while
Brenna Holley tacked on five.
Thalianette Garcia led ECU with nine kills while Sydney Dungen added 18 assists. Darcie Kaiser had 15 digs.
The Bison will look to close a perfect regular season next Tuesday as they close it out with rival Southern Nazarne in Bethany. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
