Box Score SHAWNEE – Bison Volleyball secured a 3-1 win over Southern Nazarene Thursday evening in Bethany, Oklahoma.
The green and gold are back in the win column after claiming their second win over the Crimson Storm this season. Sept. 26 saw the Bison host SNU, ending in a 3-1 win over the visitors for the first OBU conference win of the season.
This Thursday evening's match mirrored the initial meeting between the two this season, with a 3-1 win for the Bison, this time on the road.
Oklahoma Baptist took the first two sets with 25-17 and 25-19 finals. The Crimson Storm kept the match alive with a 25-21 set three to force a fourth set. OBU Volleyball claimed the final set with a 25-12 ending for a Bison win, 3-1.
The green and gold compiled 61.0 points, 54 kills, seven blocks, 51 assists and 90 digs.
Rylee Unruh led the Bison with 13 kills.
Jill Leslie and
Allie Stricker each added 12 kills for OBU.
Avery Hellmuth led the team's defense with four blocks, while Leslie and Unruh added three blocks a-piece.
Emily Boyer totaled 43 assists for the Bison.
Kenedy Houchin earned a new career high of 20 digs on the evening to lead the team.
Lauren Safrit tallied 17 digs and Unruh ended with 16 on the night.
Set 1
In the opening frame, SNU was first to strike. A 3-0 run followed for the Bison to take the lead. A second three-score run brought the total to 8-3, but the Crimson Storm took the next five points to tie things up at 8-8. An error from the home team and an ace from Hellmuth reclaimed the lead for the green and gold. As each team trucked onward, a pair of points came across for SNU to bring the score to 14-13 in favor of the Bison. Houchin and Unruh laid down a pair of kills and a Crimson Storm error extended the OBU lead to 17-13. Each team added a pair of points for a 19-15 score. SNU tallied another kill but the green and gold responded with four consecutive points, consisting of blocks from Houchin (1), Hellmuth (2), and Unruh (1), as well as a pair of kills from Unruh for a 23-16 total. A final kill came across for the home team, but Unruh and Boyer claimed back-to-back kills to seal the deal for OBU with a 25-17 set one final.
Set 2
Leslie sprang into action in the second set, snagging the first point with a kill to put the Bison on the board. Four ties led to a 5-5 total, but Unruh and Boyer tallied kills for OBU and a pair of SNU errors gave the visitors a 9-5 lead. Two points came across for the home team but the green and gold maintained their lead. Kills from Hellmuth, Boyer, and Stricker paired with another SNU error, made for a 13-7 lead. The Crimson Storm laid down a kill, but the Bison got back to work with kills from Stricker (2) and Leslie (1) and a bad SNU set tallied a 17-8 score for OBU. The green and gold maintained their lead as Hellmuth added another kill for the 21
stpoint. Another pair of Crimson Storm errors contributed to the Bison lead. Hellmuth and Stricker laid down the last couple of kills for the visitors for a 25-19 set two score.
Set 3
SNU opened up the third set with the first point. OBU took the next three points to earn the lead. A pair of Crimson Storm kills evened the score at 3-3. Four more ties followed, and a 5-0 run took the lead for the home team at 14-9. The Bison went on a 4-0 run to make it a one-point set at 15-14. SNU found another four-score run to extend their lead five points at 20-15. Kills from Houchin and Hellmuth and a block from
Taya McReynolds and Hellmuth made for a three-score run for OBU. A few points later, the Crimson Storm went on to take another three consecutive points to bring the competition to set point. Errors from the home team added another pair of points for the green and gold but a final SNU kill closed out the set at 25-21.
Set 4
In the fourth stanza, the Crimson Storm took the first three points. A SNU error put OBU on the board but a kill from the home team followed. Boyer kicked things into gear, igniting a 6-0 run for the visitors with kills from Leslie (1), Unruh (2), and a block from Leslie and Unruh. From there, the Bison maintained their lead. OBU led 8-6 after a kill from the home team but the Bison caught fire, taking the next five points for a 13-6 total. Another 4-0 run for the green and gold propelled the lead to 18-9 for the visitors with solo shots from Leslie and Stricker, blocks from Boyer and Leslie and an error from the home team. Sticker and Houchin claimed a kill each and another Leslie and Unruh block made for a 22-11 total. The 12
th point came across for SNU in the form of a kill but another 3-0 run for OBU closed the door on a Crimson Storm rally. The fourth set ended with a 25-12 total, securing a 3-1 win for the green and gold.
Next Up
The Bison will be back at home Nov. 12 for a 7 p.m. match. OBU will host East Central University as Bison Volleyball honors the 2024 seniors on Senior Day.
