Week 4 Preview: Northwestern & East Central

SHAWNEE – The beginning of Great American Conference action is here for Oklahoma Baptist who will play Northwestern Oklahoma State and East Central this week. OBU will travel to Alva on Sept. 19 for a 6 p.m. first serve before the Sept. 21 contest versus the Tigers comes inside the Noble Complex at 7 p.m.
 
Bison Notes

• After winning both matches at Missouri S&T's Miner Classic, the Bison improved to 6-5.
• Five of OBU's six wins this season have come by 3-0 counts.
• Head Coach Anna Howle moved her OBU win tally to 380 in the process.
• Jill Leslie led in the team's wins over S&T and Upper Iowa. She averaged 2.64 kills per set and hit .419. She currently sits in third in the GAC in attack mark (.338).
• Libero Maci Langford's 4.63 digs per set ranks fourth in the conference.
• Rylee Martin continues to rank in the top-ten in the league in assists. She is sitting at seventh (6.03) heading into this week's matches.
• OBU's .219 attack mark is tops in the GAC.
• The Bison also have a pair of top-44 marks in the country in blocks per set (43rd; 2.21) and total blocks (44th; 84.0). 

Northwestern Notes

• The Rangers are 4-7 and are coming off a split at the Missouri S&T Miner Classic. They lost in four sets to the Miners before winning in four against Upper Iowa.
• NWOSU was picked to finish in a tie for seventh in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• A season ago, the seventh-seed Rangers upset the two-seed Bison in the GAC Tournament first round. It marked the first time a No. 7 seed won that match. That win also snapped an eight-match winning streak in the series for the Bison.
• Cameron Lobb, the GAC Newcomer of the Year a season ago, is one of the key returners. Her 7.02 assists per set is fourth-best in the league and her 16 aces is a top-six mark.
• Leading the Rangers on the attack is Erika Asencio Soriano. She is sixth in the GAC in kills per set (3.25).
• Also of note, junior Mariela Jimenez checks in at No. 8 in hitting percentage (.275).
• As a team, Northwestern is 37th in the country in total blocks (87.0).
• Coach Jon Bingesser's team will be looking to beat OBU in Alva for the first time since the 2018 season. The green and gold have been victorious the previous four times.

East Central Notes

• The Tigers are 5-7 through the first 12 matches of the season. That includes a 3-0 loss to Southern Nazarene in their first GAC contest on Sept. 12.
• ECU is under the direction of first-year coach Danielle Essix who replaced Cheri Lindsay.
• Last year, the Tigers swept the Bison in the regular season, a program-first in GAC play.
• Emma Strickland, an All-GAC First Team selection last year, returns for ECU. Her 4.05 points per set is third-best in the league while her 3.70 kills rank second.
• Teammate Odalys Gonzalez is right behind Strickland in kills (4th; 3.51 p/s).
• Pacing the ECU offense is Julia Kabala whose 6.98 assists-per-set average ranks sixth.
• ECU's offense has gotten off to a slow start. It ranks ninth in both hitting (.159) and kills (11.11).