SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist, winners of three straight and six of its last eight matches, host Henderson State and Ouachita on Thursday and Friday, respectively, at the Noble Complex.
The game with the Reddies comes at 6 p.m. before Friday's event versus the Tigers begins at 4.
OBU's recent rise has pushed the team over .500 with a 10-8 record including a 4-1 Great American Conference mark. That's good for second place behind Harding (15-1, 5-0 GAC). A week ago, the green and gold went 3-0 with wins over SWOSU, Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Those results also helped the Bison get GAC Player of the Week awards for juniors
Maci Langford and
D'Erricka Frierson. Here's a look at where OBU ranks within the conference heading into this week's matches:
As a team Individually
| GAC leader in blocks (2.33 per set) |
Jill Leslie: 3rd in attack mark (.330) & 8th in blocks (0.86) |
| 2nd in kills (13.34) and assists (12.28) |
Maci Langford: 4th in digs (4.91) |
| 2nd in attack percentage (.212) |
Avery Hellmuth: 9th in attack percentage (.277) |
| 3rd in digs (17.66) |
Rylee Martin: 10th in assists (5.77) |
Henderson State is on a three-match losing streak coming to Shawnee. Losses to Ouachita, Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas has coach Philip McDaniel's team boasting a 7-10 record and 1-4 in the GAC. Henderson's past contests with OBU have been close, with the green and gold holding a slim 4-3 series advantage. The last time the Reddies came to Bison Hill, they won 3-1 on Oct. 11, 2019.
Here's a look at Henderson State's squad:
| GAC leader in digs (18.13 per set) |
Trinity Sharp: 7th in digs (4.13) |
| 2nd in blocks (2.28) |
Christiane Uzoh: 10th in kills (2.78) |
| 10th in hitting percentage (9.75) |
Christiane Uzoh: 10th in points (3.24) |
| 12th in kills (10.51) |
|
Friday's match with Ouachita looks like it could be a good one. The Tigers have won seven of eight after a sweep of Mississippi University for Women on Sept. 26. Coach Allison Frizzell-Kizer's team is currently 10-7 and 3-2 in the league. This will be the eighth matchup (5-2 Bison) with OBU who has won the last three.
Here is how Ouachita ranks in the GAC:
| 3rd in aces (1.6) and opponent kills (10.79) |
Emily Adams: 2nd in attack mark (.341) |
| 4th in kills (12.37) and digs (17.16) |
Courtney Hanson: 2nd in assists (10.23) |
| 5th in attack percentage (.193) |
Lexie Castillow: GAC leader in digs (5.59) |
| 5th in assists (11.30) |
Courtney Hanson: 8th in aces (0.40) |
For more information on OBU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (
OBU_Volleyball) and Instagram (
OBU_Volleyball).
