SHAWNEE -- This Thursday Oklahoma Baptist (22-8) goes into the NCAA Tournament Central Region quarterfinals against No. 2-ranked Concordia University-St. Paul (28-2). This match is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start inside CSP's Gangelhoff Center. The winner will go on to play either Wayne State or Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m.
Thursday's match with CSP is the Bison's second NCAA Tournament matchup and first since a Dec. 5, 2019 contest against Nebraska-Kearney.
Bison Notes
● The Bison claimed the Great American Conference championship against Henderson State on Nov. 18.
● That was OBU's third conference tourney title. It was the team's ninth straight win as well.
● At the conclusion of the tournament,
Jill Leslie was named MVP while
Avery Hellmuth and
D'Erricka Frierson earned all-tournament honors.
● Leslie leads the team with 291 kills and 3.5 points per set. During the regular season, she finished second in the GAC in hitting (.341), seventh in points and 10th in blocks (0.85).
● Frierson has been very good as of late. She has reached double-digit kills in five of the last seven games including 18 against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 9. The McKinney, Texas native ranked ninth in the GAC this season in kills (2.82).
● As for Hellmuth, her season has brought movement in the all-time OBU record book. She is tenth with 767 kills and sixth in blocks (297.0). During the GAC Tournament, she was sensational, hitting .500 with 3.2 kills per set and averaging 0.8 blocks per set.
● Going into the match with CSP, the Bison will rely on setters
Abrey Galt and
Emily Boyer. Their season-highs include 27 for Boyer and 52 for Galt.
● Defensively,
Maci Langford, the two-time GAC Defensive Player of the Year, has produced a team-high 515 digs. She was the GAC leader at 4.81 per set.
● As a team, OBU ranks 15th in the country in assists per set (12.88) and 19th in digs (17.7). Plus, the Bison are 18th in kills (13.88).
Concordia-St. Paul Notes
● The Golden Bears since 2003 have made 10 NCAA Championship appearances and have a 9-1 national-title game record. They lost last year's title match versus West Texas A&M.
● In their last match against No. 8 St. Cloud State, CSP won 3-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament title.
● Coach Brady Starkey's team has won 10 in a row coming into the match vs. OBU.
● CSP has not lost at home this year inside the Gangelhoff Center (10-0).
● The Golden Bears are the national leader in three categories: assists (14.28), hitting percentage (.322) and kills (15.26).
● Teagan Starkey leads CSP with 1,320 assists this year. She ranks first in Division II with 13.07 per set.
● Jasmine Mulvihill has a team-high 349 kills and 4.12 points per set.
● Senior middle blocker Jamie Guptill ranks 10th in the nation in hitting (.408).
● Plus, Guptill and Katie Mattson each have an 0.85 blocks-per-set average to lead CSP.
● In the digs department, Emma Schmidt leads the Golden Bears with a 3.45 average while Ellie Sieling follows (3.12).
