ROLLA, Mo. – Oklahoma Baptist (6-5) held Upper Iowa to an .086 attack mark on Friday morning en route to a 3-0 win against the Peacocks during Missouri S&T's Miner Classic. That total was the best allowed by the Bison defense this season.
Key Leaders
- MB Jill Leslie: Her four solo blocks were a career-high and she added seven kills.
- OH Lauren Safrit: Notched her third career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.
- S Emily Boyer: Tied for the match-high with three aces and added 14 assists.
- OH Jenna West: Her 11 kills marked the third time this year she has reached 10+ kills.
- S Rylee Martin: Led the team with 18 assists.
First Set
OBU's recent struggles in the serve-receive game initially had UIU up 5-0 after three aces from Madelyn Rettler. After that though, the Bison settled down and came back. They tied the match at 9-9 before a Peacock error and Safrit kill boosted OBU in front 11-9. That spurt energized OBU who later went up 20-11 after a Leslie block. By the end, it was 25-19 following a set-closing block from Boyer and
Allie Stricker. The Bison held their opponent to a .000 attack mark.
Second Set
Like the previous stanza, a 9-9 tie score was taken command of by the Bison who scored five of the next six. Leslie and Safrit recorded four of those points while senior
Avery Hellmuth added the other kill. At that point, it was 14-10 OBU and it would stay in front the rest of the way. OBU's offense was at its best in the second, hitting .333 with 17 kills. West had five of those while Leslie added four.
Third Set
Leslie set the tone in the final set with a solo block to start. OBU forced Upper Iowa into 10 attack errors in this frame as it won 25-19. The Bison never trailed and led by as many as seven points twice. The last of those, on a West kill, had the green and gold leading 18-11. UIU did get to within one, 19-18, after an ace by McKenna Diermeier, but the Bison never relinquished and pulled away for a six-point, third-set victory.
On The Horizon
Non-conference competition is completed for OBU who will now turn its attention to Great American Conference action. That will start on Sept. 19 at Northwestern Oklahoma State (3-6).
