SHAWNEE – After a heartbreaking five-set loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville,
Jill Leslie,
Taneyah Brown and Oklahoma Baptist came back to sweep Union University (TN) in a trio of exciting sets at the Noble Complex on Saturday night. With the win, OBU improved to 3-5.
MATCH ONE
The green and gold had opportunities to defeat the Javelinas but just could not close as they hoped to. In the opening set, TAMUK was down by several points a few times but rallied to win 25-21 after closing the stanza with a 7-3 run. OBU aided that visitor run with five errors.
A set later, the Bison tied things up, courtesy of a hot start.
D'Erricka Frierson's kill made the tally 8-3 before
Avery Hellmuth pushed the home team's advantage to 13-5. OBU hit a respectable .235 that frame.
Third-set action saw OBU rally from a 17-11 deficit and tie it at 24 after back-to-back Leslie kills, however, the next two points went the visitor's way.
Once more though, the Bison would tie the match. Nursing a one-point lead, 19-18,
Jenna West and Hellmuth had four of the next six points for OBU who would go on to win 25-20.
Heartbreak followed, though, in the fifth.
Audrey Poupard's solo block pushed OBU ahead 14-12. Over the next four sequences, the Bison committed three errors, two of which were blocks by TAMUK. The last from Meghan Stiefer, ended the game with the visitors ahead 16-14.
MATCH TWO
Three exhilarating sets went the Bison's way in the nightcap against Union. Brown's 14 kills led the team while Hellmuth and Leslie each had four blocks. Additionally, Frierson recorded a career-high 22 digs while freshman
Rylee Martin handed out 26 assists.
Competition in the first stanza was highlighted by each squad defending set points. There were six of them down the stretch before OBU scored three of the last four to win 30-28. Hellmuth had a block while Brown added a kill to lift the Bison.
A set later, OBU defended two Union set points. Down 25-24, Leslie notched her ninth kill of the night to tie things up. Two sequences later, West dialed up another tying point, this time at 26-all. The Bison then tallied the next two points from West and Frierson to attain a 2-0 match lead.
Unlike the previous match, this time, OBU would seal the deal when it had the chance. Leading 14-12, the Bison scored five of the next six points to take a 19-13 lead. There were blocks by Leslie, West and Hellmuth and two kills from Frierson and Hellmuth during that stretch.
By set's end, OBU had hit .278 while holding Union to a .000 attack mark.
On Sept. 6, the Bison will return home to face University of Central Oklahoma at 7 p.m.
