TYLER, Texas – A third-set comeback highlighted No. 12 Oklahoma Baptist's 3-0 win over West Alabama on Saturday morning at the UT-Tyler Dakota's Patriot Classic. The Bison won for the sixth consecutive time and bolstered their record to 6-1.
Like yesterday's matches against St. Edward's and Ferris State, the Bison defense was solid. This morning's effort was a season-best, in fact. OBU held West Alabama, members of the Gulf South Conference, to an .058 attack percentage, its lowest allowed this season.
Offensively,
D'Erricka Frierson and
Malia Leatherland tied for the match lead with 10 kills each while
Taneyah Brown contributed nine. Putting the offense in motion, once again, was
Kaylee Buell who distributed a match-high 25 digs. Additionally, Buell added 12 digs while
Diana Carranza notched a 15 digs, also a match-best.
In the opening set, the Bison held the Tigers to an .000 attack percentage. Trailing 10-9, OBU put together a 10-3 run to seize command. Frierson notched three kills while Leatherland added a pair and ace to lead that stretch. UWA never responded as the Bison won the set 25-17 with the final point coming on an
Audrey Poupard and Frierson block.
A 1-0 match lead was doubled in the second as OBU never trailed in the stanza. Leading by one, 9-8, Leatherland started a 7-0 run which brought a 16-8 advantage. The last of those points came via kills by Brown and
Destiny AbuBakir-Temple. In the second, Oklahoma Baptist scorched the West Alabama defense with a .500 attack mark.
The third and final frame wasn't easy, but OBU rallied to win. Following an ace from Holoisa Niespodzinksi, the Tigers led 13-7, only their fifth lead of the match.
After that though, the Bison settled down and started cracking at UWA's advantage. Down by six, OBU got a point via error which started a 7-0 run. The next few sequences saw Frierson record two kills while Carranza ended the run with an ace. At that point, OBU led 14-13. The scoreboard remained within three points after that until the end.
Up 22-19, back-to-back kills from Leatherland and Brown, paired with a service error from the Tigers, helped the Bison prevail 25-20.
Oklahoma Baptist will look to continue its success on September 16 when it travels to conference foe Southwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m.
