SHAWNEE – Jill Leslie hit .500 and tied her career high with 15 kills to lead Oklahoma Baptist over Southern Arkansas on Thursday at the Noble Complex. OBU improved to 12-7 and 6-2 in the Great American Conference with the result.
Key Leaders
- Leslie's 15 kills came on 24 swings with just three errors. At one point, she was hitting at a school-record pace of .789.
- Rylee Martin recorded a match-high 25 assists while Abrey Galt added 17.
- Defensive specialists Maci Langford and Kaelyn Ina each registered double-digit digs with 13 and 10, respectively.
- Freshman Lauren Safrit's .375 attack mark was her second-highest total this year. She tallied 10 digs and added seven digs.
- Middle blocker Avery Hellmuth contributed 10 kills and a .563 attack mark. That latter total was her third-highest percentage of her career.
First Set
Leslie dominated in the first with seven kills and a .750 attack mark. OBU led throughout and pulled away near the end. While holding an 18-15 advantage, Safrit's kill started a 7-2 stretch for the hosts.
D'Erricka Frierson added a block and kill while Leslie added a point to aid the Bison. For the green and gold, it hit .387.
Second Set
OBU's offense was a tad bit better in the second as it won 25-18. The Bison connected with a .388 mark and committed just two attack errors. Individually, OBU had several contributors.
Jh'Kyah Head, Hellmuth, Frierson and Leslie all reached four kills. With the scoreboard knotted up at 9-9, the home squad scored five in a row to get the cushion it needed. Safrit finished off a Galt pass to make it 14-9, its largest lead at the point. Later, Frierson moved the tally to 20-12.
Third Set
The Bison didn't set as well as they had in the previous sets but still prevailed 25-20. Early on, SAU gained an 8-4 lead following a block by Carlin Whaley and Isla Olivas. That forced a timeout by coach
Anna Howle. OBU responded afterward. Over the next six points, the hosts tied the stanza at 9-9. The scoreboard went back and forth after that and was later knotted up at 17-all. What followed was three straight points by the Bison. Ina served an ace; Head registered a kill and SAU erred to make it 20-17. OBU held the lead after that and later won the match on another Safrit kill.
On The Horizon
Tomorrow, the Bison will host Arkansas-Monticello at 4 p.m. for another GAC match.
