HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Bison Volleyball ended the 2024 season with a heartbreaking loss to Ouachita Baptist in five sets.
The green and gold made their return to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for the 2024 GAC Volleyball Tournament. The Bison came in as the four seed, set to take on the five seed, Ouachita Baptist.
The battle of the OBU's was nothing shy of nail biting, with a five-set battle ending in favor of the Tigers. The opening set went to the ladies in purple with a close 27-25 finish. Sets two and three went to the Bison with 25-14 and 25-18 finals. The fourth set saw the Tigers claim a 25-23 total and a fifth set ended 15-9 for Ouachita Baptist, continuing their tournament run.
Oklahoma Baptist totaled 92.0 points, 74 kills, six aces, 12 blocks, 70 assists and 109 digs, outscoring the Tigers in four of six categories.
Rylee Unruh had an incredible night, becoming the first Bison to total 24 kills in a single game this season, setting a new career high in the field.
Jill Leslie tallied 19 kills for OBU and
Avery Hellmuth added 15.
Emily Boyer and Unruh each added a pair of aces for the green and gold, with a lone ace coming from
Kenedy Houchin. Leslie totaled seven blocks to lead the Bison. Houchin and Unruh each contributed a trio of blocks. Boyer totaled 63 assists, just a couple shy of breaking the school record in total assists in five sets (65 assists, 11/2/2017).
Karsyn Hunter and Unruh each tallied 23 digs for OBU, while Houchin added 21 for the Bison.
Set 1
The opening frame saw OUA first on the board with an ace. Each point tied until a 4-4 score saw a 3-0 run from the Tigers to take the lead. The Bison followed in suit, claiming the next three points. The ladies in purple jumped back in the lead with a pair of kills. Unruh laid down a kill for OKB's eighth point. A Tiger kill came across to see OUA the first to double digits with a two-point lead. The Bison took the next two points, knotting things back up at 10 a-piece. The pattern continued as each team added a couple at a time. Tied up at 14-14, OUA went on another three-score run but the Bison refused to fall behind, taking the next three points, for another tie at 17-17 with kills from
Allie Stricker and Hellmuth. The Tigers led by one at 19-18 but a kill from Hellmuth tied things up. Unruh came up with a block to give the Bison the lead and Boyer followed with a kill to give the green and gold a 21-19 edge. The ladies in purple added another couple of points to tie things back up at 21 a-piece. Leslie and
Lauren Safrit each added kills to maintain the OKB lead. A kill from Unruh placed the Bison at set point but OUA came up with the next three point to keep the set alive and take the lead. Leslie tallied the final kill for OKB but back-to-back points from the Tigers saw the set fall in favor of Ouachita Baptist at 27-25.
Set 2
The green and gold came alive in the second stanza, taking a 4-0 lead to start off the action with back-to-back kills from Unruh, and an ace and kill from Boyer. The next four points went to OUA to tie things up. Another shot from Unruh incited a four-score run with a kill and block from Houchin and an error from the Tigers. From there, the Bison maintained their lead. The Tigers got as close as a couple of points, but never recovered as another 4-0 run from the green and gold buried OUA at 16-9. The Tigers came up with another couple of points, but OKB answered with three for a 19-11 score. With a 21-13 lead, Leslie and Safrit added kills while Safrit and Hellmuth added a block for a three-score run to total 24-13 in favor of the Bison. A final shot from the Tigers brought in the 14
th point but a service error from OUA sealed the set for the Bison.
Set 3
Unruh took the first point for OKB with a kill. The ladies in purple took the next five points. Kills from Unruh and Safrit, and a block from Leslie and Houchin contributed to a 5-5 total for the green and gold. The following three points tied but Hellmuth and Unruh added kills to give the Bison a two-point lead. From there, OKB held the lead. Unruh claimed two consecutive kills and a block from Leslie extended the lead for the Bison to 19-15. The trend continued with OUA down by a couple of points. At 21-18, Leslie started a 4-0 run for the green and gold with a kill. A block from Leslie and Houchin, paired with an Unruh ace and another kill from Leslie totaled 25-18, closing out the set for OKB.
Set 4
The fourth set saw the ultimate Bison comeback. The first seven points went to OUA, unanswered. Safrit laid down a kill to get the green and gold on the board. The Tigers took another pair of points as an error tallied another Bison point, bringing the total to 9-2, OUA. Down by double digits, Hellmuth broke through with a kill to begin a four-score run for OKB, chipping away at the deficit. With the Tigers at set point, a 24-18 score loomed over the Bison, but a relentless OKB team refused to go down easy. Unuruh took the next two points. An error from OUA brought the total to 21 for the green and gold. A shot from Leslie and a Safrit-Leslie block saw the Bison close to gap to 24-23. A tough ending to an impressive OKB comeback followed as an error from the green and gold handed the set to the Tigers, 25-23.
Set 5
The first three OKB points came in the form of Leslie kills, seeing a 5-3 lead for OUA. Another couple of points from the Tigers gave the ladies in purple a four-point lead. The Bison answered with kills from Houchin and Hellmuth for a 7-5 total. Down by two at 9-7, the Bison fell victim to a five-score run from OUA for a 14-7 scoreboard. Leslie replied with another kill and a Tiger error added the final point for OKB. The ladies in purple laid down a fatal shot, ending the season for Oklahoma Baptist in a heartbreaking manner.
