PENSACOLA, Fla. – Right-side hitter
Jh'Kyah Head registered a career-high 12 kills but Oklahoma Baptist's efforts in defeating 12th-ranked West Florida came up short on Saturday as the Argonauts won 3-1.
Key Leaders
- Head: her 12 kills bested her previous high of 11 which she attained last year vs. Newman (9/2/22).
- S Rylee Martin & Emily Boyer: Each reached season-bests in assists with 27 and 17, respectively.
- OH Lauren Safrit: Came up with nine kills and a season-high 13 digs.
- L Maci Langford: Tallied 19 digs, most for the Bison.
- UWF's Avery Rodgers, Jacque Martin and Damyah Joyner all recorded at least 10 kills.
First Set
UWF committed just one error on 42 swings and hit .357 as it won the first 25-13. Leading 9-6, the Argonauts reeled off an 8-3 run highlighted by three straight kills at one point from Alex Oliver. OBU's Safrit tallied four kills to lead the Bison.
Second Set
There were a few Argonauts errors early on, the last of which, a setting miscue, had OBU trailing 5-4. What followed was the hosts scoring seven of the next nine. There were a couple blocks in those sequences from Rodgers and Jenna Zydlo to aid the No. 12 team. UWF's defense played a large part in the 25-18 win as it came up with 4.0 total blocks, 15 digs and limited OBU to a match-low .054 attack mark. Head was the leader for the Bison this set with five kills.
Third Set
OBU staved off defeat in the third as it won 25-16. That was their first set victory of the season. Nursing a slim 14-13 advantage, the Bison scored three in a row highlighted by kills from
Jenna West and
Jill Leslie to extend to 17-13. UWF never responded after that short burst as the green and gold forced another set. OBU hit an impressive .419 in the third with four different players notching kills.
Fourth Set
Seven of the first 10 points went West Florida's way and it never looked back. Rodgers led with five kills while Martin tallied four. Head and OBU didn't back down though and eventually got to 24-21 but the Argos then closed the match with a kill from Rodgers, her 12th of the match.
On the Horizon
OBU will conclude play at the SpringHill Suites Invitational with another match on Saturday against Mississippi College.
