Bison Suffer Upset Loss to Rangers in GAC Tourney

SHAWNEE - Thursday at Firelake Arena, No. 2-seeded Oklahoma Baptist (19-10, 13-3 GAC) faced off against No.7 Northwestern Oklahoma State (16-14, 7-9 GAC) for the second quarterfinal of the GAC Volleyball Championship.
 
After meeting twice in regular-season conference play, the Bison went into the match with two wins under their belt. But with this, the Rangers came in seeking redemption. By the match's end, the Bison fell in a surprising loss to the Rangers with a final score of 3-1. 
 
It was the first time a seven seed defeated a two.
 
The first stanza showcased the Bison playing extremely well. They raced out to an 11-5 lead after an Audrey Poupard kill.  OBU juniors Jenna West and D'Erricka Frierson stood out on the court with three kills each, helping OBU hit .424. With three additional kills by Avery Hellmuth, the green and gold flew by in the first, 25-18.  
 
In the second, the Rangers came in with a newfound fire. Addison Wimmer highlighted the stanza with five kills. Though Frierson one-upped these stats with six kills and senior Taneyah Brown aided with four, the Rangers would eventually overcome several deficits and rally at the end. NWOSU took the second, 25-22.
 
A set later, OBU missed a chance to go up 2-1. At one point, OBU trailed 19-14, but fought hard and came back.  A 7-2 stretch capped off by a Brown kill, tied the set at 24. Later, OBU held a 26-25 lead after a Hellmuth kill. However, the green and gold couldn't find a clinching point, as the Rangers scored the last three points to win, 28-26.
 
The fourth stanza put the nail in the casket of OBU's season. Though the Bison came in with an obvious focus on knotting the match, an 8-2 Rangers start gave the No. 7 seed plenty of cushion. The closest OBU could get after that was three points on several occasions. Leslie did provide three blocks to give the Bison hope, but by the end, NWOSU won 25-22.
 
With the loss, OBU finalized its 2022 year with a 19-11 mark.