SHAWNEE – Harding (21-1, 10-0 GAC) ran its program-record winning streak to 19 contests after a competitive four-set win over Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday at the Noble Complex.
The loss snapped OBU's eight-game unbeaten streak and moved the team's record to 14-9 and 8-2 in the Great American Conference.
Rylee Martin had one of her best performances of the season, handing out a team-high 26 assists and recording 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the year.
Jill Leslie added 12 kills and five block assists while
D'Erricka Frierson contributed 12 kills and seven digs. Additionally,
Maci Langford registered a match-high 23 digs.
The visiting Lady Bisons stole set one over OBU. Five straight points by the Bison, which included a couple block assists by Leslie,
Jenna West and
Taneyah Brown, helped the hosts attain a 13-7 advantage. Later, OBU led 18-13 following an HU error. However, the Lady Bisons would rally.
An 8-3 stretch tied the match at 21-all as Kelli McKinnon and Skyler McKinnon each notched multiple points during the run. By the end, a couple errors and block assist by Jacey Lambert and McKinnon helped Harding win 25-23.
Second-set action was all green and gold. In fact, OBU ran the scoreboard to 9-0 as Martin contributed a couple aces while Frierson and Leslie notched a couple of points. The Bison wound up winning 25-10 and held Harding to a .000 attack mark.
With the match tied at 1-1, Harding went back in front. HU's offense was outstanding, hitting .367 and more than doubling OBU's output (.158). Competition turned in favor of the visitors early on with a 6-2 run. Nursing a 10-7 lead, HU got kills from four different players and attained a 16-9 advantage. After that, OBU got no closer than six.
Then in the fourth, Harding sealed the deal. After an
Avery Hellmuth kill tied it at 6-6, HU scored eight of the next 10 which included three kills by Libby Hinton. OBU's Martin did pull the hosts to a 22-18 score after an ace, however, that would be the closest the green and gold got.
Tomorrow, the Bison will host Arkansas Tech at 4 p.m.
