HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist (20-8) dialed up one of its most impressive performances of the season, and in Great American Conference Tournament play ever, on Thursday during a 3-0 win against Ouachita in the quarterfinal round.
Tomorrow at 2 p.m. the second-seed Bison will face rival and third-seed Southwestern Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
Among the highlights:
- The Bison's defense, after previously allowing 65 kills to Ouachita during the Oct. 19 loss, held the Tigers to their second-lowest total (33) of the season.
- Three different players hit at least .500: Lauren Safrit (.500), Jill Leslie (.500) and Avery Hellmuth (.538).
- The team's nine attack errors were the third-fewest in a match this fall. Plus, the Bison's .369 attack percentage was its best-ever in a GAC Tournament match.
- Abrey Galt had 23 assists while Emily Boyer added 16.
- Defensively, Hellmuth had four block assists while Maci Langford and Safrit each tallied 10+ digs.
First Set
Ouachita started well, hitting over .500 and attaining a 7-4 lead after a Kayla Steinmeyer kill. The Bison's slow start was quickly overcome though with a 4-0 run.
Jenna West and
Jh'Kyah Head tallied a couple of points and the green and gold got its first lead, 8-7. Later, and nursing a 12-11 advantage, the Bison reeled off a 4-1 stretch to reach a 16-12 lead. Leslie had two kills and an ace in that sequence. OBU stayed in front and later won 25-18. They hit .459 in the opening set.
Second Set
The Bison only trailed once (1-0) and ended up controlling the second stanza. Three straight kills from West and Safrit boosted the team's lead to 13-6 and later, a block by Hellmuth and West moved the scoreboard to 21-13. Another 25-18 win followed for the Bison who doubled their match lead.
Third Set
Oklahoma Baptist cruised in the third, hitting .313 while holding Ouachita to a miserable -.059 attack mark. In a blink of an eye, the Bison led 8-2 after a block by Hellmuth and
D'Erricka Frierson. That advantage ballooned to nine, 14-5, after Boyer served up a kill for Safrit. Then a block by Head gave the Bison their first double-digit lead (16-6). To cap things off, Hellmuth and Head got another block to win the set and match.
On The Horizon
Friday's match with SWOSU will be the third this year and first-ever in the conference tourney. During the regular season, the Bison won a pair of five-setters over the Bulldogs.
