SHAWNEE – On Thursday, the Bison (14-8, 8-3 GAC) meet the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers (9-13, 5-6 GAC) in Great American Conference volleyball action at the Noble Complex. Previously on Sept. 19 in Alva, Northwestern defeated OBU 3-1.
The Rangers' win last month was their second straight in the series with OBU. That had never happened since the teams started D2 competition in 2015. Coming into the match, the green and gold sit just a match back of first-place Harding with five regular-season contests remaining.
Bison Notes
● OBU's last match against Henderson was a solid, 3-0 win. It marked HSU's first sweep at home.
● The Bison hold a 14-4 record overall against the Rangers. Inside Noble, OBU is 6-1.
● In 2023, coach
Anna Howle's team is 4-0 in Shawnee.
● Offensively, the green and gold lead the GAC in points, kills, assists and blocks.
● They rank 25th in the nation in assists (12.51) and 37th in kills per set (13.3).
● Leading on the kills front is
D'Erricka Frierson. She's ninth in the GAC with 2.71 per set. Plus, Frierson is hitting a career-best .223.
● Middle blocker
Jill Leslie remains atop the GAC in hitting at .358. Leslie is also tenth in blocks (0.84) and eighth in points (3.22).
●
Rylee Martin is seventh in GAC in assists (6.31). She had a career-high 41 last week at Ouachita.
● Defensively,
Maci Langford has a 4.78 digs-per-set average. That's tops in the GAC. Additionally,
Allie Stricker, a freshman, checks in at No. 8 in blocks (0.85).
Northwest Oklahoma Notes
● The Rangers won their last game against Arkansas-Monticello, 3-0. Over their last 10 matches, Northwestern in 4-6.
● Competition on the road has been difficult. Northwestern is 1-7 in true road matches this year.
● Erika Asencio Soriano has 3.66 kills per set, placing her third in the GAC. Soriano is also third in points (4.04). She tallied a match-high 21 in the previous match with the Bison.
● Cameron Lobb is fifth in the GAC in assists with a 7.59 average. She's also second in aces (0.45). Lobb notched five aces vs. OBU on Sept. 19.
● Carmae Jones is fourth on the blocks bracket (0.90). Jones leads Northwestern with 75.0 total this fall.
● Also defensively, Brianda Diaz ranks sixth in the conference in digs (4.31).
● One of Northwestern's main concerns is opponent kills. It gives up 12.88 per set, 11th-most in the GAC.
● The Rangers also allow a league-worst 2.35 blocks per set.
