BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Malia Leatherland notched 20 kills and added 16 digs while
Kaylee Buell handed out a career-high 51 assists to help lead No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist to a 3-1 win over No. 13 Hillsdale on Saturday afternoon at the Ferris State Invitational.
The win boosted OBU's early-season record to 3-1. Additionally, for Buell, her assist total marked just the tenth time since the start of the DII era (2017) that a Bison player recorded at least 50 assists. The last time that occurred was on Oct. 25, 2018 when Hayden Blair dished out 58 against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
There were plenty of other contributions too.
Diana Carranza led the squad with 17 digs and three aces while
Kaelyn Ina notched 12 digs.
Avery Hellmuth added 14 kills and
Taryn Weber and
Taneyah Brown also reached double-digit kills totals with 12 and 10, respectively.
Errors proved to be the difference in set one as Hillsdale won 28-26.
OBU connected with a respectable .292 attack percentage, but also aided the Chargers with six service errors and a couple ball-handling miscues. One of those errors, when leading 24-23, allowed the Chargers to fend off a first-set loss and eventually prevail 28-26.
In the second stanza, a Hillsdale attack error sparked an 8-0 for the Bison which was capped off by Hellmuth's kill. That brought the tally to 13-7 and Oklahoma Baptist never looked back, winning 25-18. OBU held the Chargers to a .122 attack mark that frame.
Midway through the third, things were even at 13 apiece. That was before back-to-back kills from Leatherland and an ace from Hellmuth put the Bison ahead for good. They'd later win 25-18 after four straight points down the stretch which included three errors by the Chargers.
The fourth and final stanza was highly competitive with OBU prevailing 27-25. There were 15 ties and eight lead changes. It appeared that Hillsdale was going to tie the match up after a Maizie Brown kill moved the Chargers' lead to 24-21. However, the Bison had other ideas fending off three straight set points with kills by
Destiny AbuBakir-Temple and Weber and an error by Hillsdale.
Two sequences later with the set tied at 25, Leatherland added her 20th kill before an error by Hillsdale ended the match.
Next weekend, OBU will take part in another tournament, the Dakota's Patriot Classic hosted by Texas-Tyler. The Bison start play versus St. Edward's and Ferris State on Sept. 10.
