BETHANY, Okla. – Oklahoma Baptist overcame a 2-1 match deficit to defeat Southern Nazarene in five sets on Tuesday in Great American Conference volleyball action. With the win, the Bison locked up the No. 2 seed for the conference tourney set to begin Nov. 10 at Firelake Arena.
Avery Hellmuth tied her career-high with eight blocks and added eight kills while
Taneyah Brown provided 14 kills, one off her season-best. Additionally,
D'Erricka Frierson produced 10 kills, 13 digs and six blocks,
Maci Langford notched 34 digs and
Rylen Moore contributed greatly with 10 digs and 14 assists. Also of note,
Abrey Galt handed out 33 assists.
SNU's first-set performance was extremely well-balanced as it hit .421 while defending the Bison well. By the end, the Crimson Storm had held the green and gold to a .162 attack percentage while recording 23 digs.
About midway through the first, the hosts led 14-12 before pulling away with an 8-2 run. Highlighting that stretch were four assists and an ace by Kaley Brubaker while Sunny Batschelett added a couple of kills.
In the second, the Bison's defense really stepped up and helped them even the match. OBU produced six total blocks and held the hosts to a .089 attack percentage.
One of those blocks helped spark the Bison late. Nursing a 17-15 lead, Galt and Hellmuth teamed up for a defensive point which sparked a 7-2 run which was ended by another block from Frierson and
Jill Leslie. At that point, it was 24-17.
The hosts went ahead again in the third, winning 25-22 before the Bison closed with fourth- and fifth-set victories.
Down 2-1, the Bison's defense came through again in the fourth. In that stanza, they held SNU to a .085 attack mark, its lowest of the night and won 25-19. Down 12-8 at one point, the Bison got in gear and went in front 17-16 on a Galt ace. Later, OBU reeled off the final six points to win. That included a Hellmuth and
Audrey Poupard kill, a couple SNU errors and block from Hellmuth and Frierson.
Fifth-set action went almost entirely OBU's way. What helped was a 6-1 run aided by four Storm errors. By the end, the Bison won 15-10 on a block by Poupard and Leslie.
Next on the schedule is the regular-season finale against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
