ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Oklahoma Baptist had another strong opening set but ended up falling in three to Minnesota Duluth on Friday afternoon at Halenbeck Hall.
UMD's performance on the defensive end stood out, as it held the Bison's offense to a .047 attack mark. By game's end, OBU freshman
Payton Rink led the team with five kills. Additionally, newcomer
Abrey Galt handed out 17 assists with
Maci Langford leading the way defensively with 12 digs.
Like yesterday against St. Cloud State, the Bison had a good opening set and put themselves in position to win. Competition was close, within three points, for most of the stanza.
Tied at 20, the Bison reeled off three of the next four points, including a kill by
Taneyah Brown, seemingly boosting OBU for a first-set win. That didn't come, however, as UMD rallied. Down 23-20, the Bulldogs scored six of seven, including kills by three different players to prevail 26-24.
Following a close first set, the second and third stanzas were a complete reversal.
OBU posted attack marks of .125 and -0.083 as the Bulldogs won 25-14 and 25-12. Plus, the Bison were only able to secure 12 total kills on 60 swings in the final two sets. For Minnesota Duluth, it raced out to a 9-1 lead in the second, while in the third, they got a 10-1 advantage.
Those hot starts were key for the Bulldogs as they earned the sweep to improve their record to 2-0.
Tomorrow, the Bison will face off against Concordia-St. Paul at 11:30 a.m. and Winona State at 6 p.m.
