SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (15-8, 9-3 GAC) is on the heels of first-place Harding with four regular-season matches remaining. This week, the Bison head to East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, for their week 10 contests.
OBU leads the series with ECU 16-6 which includes a 3-0 win over the Tigers on Sept. 21. The green and gold are even better against the Savage Storm with a 17-2 overall mark. That includes wins in the last 13 games, including one on Sept. 28 in Shawnee.
Bison Notes
- OBU is in second place in the GAC after its 3-1 win against Northwestern on Oct. 26.
- The team has won nine of its last 11 matches. Six of those victories have come by 3-0 counts.
- Jenna West led OBU against the Rangers with a career-high 16 kills. She also added 15 digs, tying her personal-best.
- Emily Boyer was a big part of the win, too, with a season-high 27 assists.
- Plus, Avery Hellmuth, Jill Leslie and D'Erricka Frierson each had at least five blocks.
- Over the past week, Hellmuth moved into sixth place in OBU history with 272 blocks.
- With those marks, the Bison stayed atop the GAC in blocks (2.25), kills (13.31) and assists (12.53).
- All three of those stats are also slotted in the top-36 in the nation.
- The Bison have two of the individual leaders in the GAC in Leslie and Maci Langford. In the middle is Leslie who has a .357 hitting mark while Langford leads in digs (4.76).
- Also of significance, Leslie is the only player in the GAC with top-ten marks in hitting, kills and blocks.
East Central Notes
- The Tigers are coming off a 3-0 road loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State.
- ECU brings an 11-13 overall record and 6-6 GAC mark into Tuesday's contest.
- Emma Strickland leads ECU ranking second in the GAC in kills (3.77) and points (4.14). In the previous matchup with OBU, she attained her lowest kill total of the season at nine and hit just .049.
- Odalys Gonzalez is another threat offensively for the Tigers ranking fourth in kills (3.47).
- Directing the ECU offense is Julia Kabala. She is fourth with an 8.15 assist average. She had 28 assists against OBU on Sept. 21.
- Other key leaders for the Tigers are Ashleigh Miller who ranks second in aces (0.45) and Sydney Roshek who is slotted seventh in digs (4.32).
- Collectively, East Central's best marks are fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.187) and service aces (1.51).
- The Tigers' real struggles are on offense. Outside of Strickland, the team ranks in the bottom third of the GAC in kills, hitting percentage and assists.
Southeastern Notes
- SE defeated Austin College on Oct. 26 to run its record to 12-12.
- The Savage Storm's victory was their fourth straight, marking the first time since 2017 that they had won that many in a row.
- Southeastern relies heavily on D'Nari Mills. She is the GAC leader and ranks second in the nation with 4.88 kills per set.
- In the previous match with OBU, Mills attained 16 kills and hit .128. At the time, that attack mark was her third-lowest of the season.
- Ruthie Forson trails only OBU's Leslie in hitting at .353. She's also third in assists (9.25).
- SE's last ranked individual is Peyton Kriegel. She is slotted fourth in aces (0.41).
- Collectively on offense, the Storm have top-three GAC marks in hitting (.216) and kills (12.87).
- Defensively, Southeastern is giving up .213 hitting to opponents. That ranks tenth of 12 in the league.
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