SHAWNEE – Bison Volleyball had a strong start in the opening day of the regular season with a couple of wins on Friday over Spring Hill College and Wheeling University.
The green and gold started off regular season play against Spring Hill College with a 9 a.m. match to open up the SpringHill Suites Invitational tournament. OBU Volleyball came in hot, sweeping the Badgers to record their first official win of the 2024 season. In their second match of the day, the green and gold went head-to-head with the Cardinals of Wheeling University, ending with a 3-1 final in favor of OBU.
Bison vs. Badgers
The Bison led the Badgers in numerous statistical categories, including points (62.0), kills (49), aces (9), assists (47), and digs (38).
Rylee Unruh tallied 13 kills to lead the Bison and
Jill Leslie followed closely with a total of 12 kills. Unruh contributed three aces, while Jh'kyah Head and Leslie added two-a-piece.
Set 1
In the opening set, the two teams battled point for point until a kill from
Avery Hellmuth sparked a 7-0 run from the Bison to bring the total to 11-4. While the Badgers tallied five more points,
Emily Boyer brought the Bison score to 12 and a service error from SHC followed by a pair of aces from Boyer gave OBU another six point lead at 15-9. A back-and-forth battle saw the Badgers close the gap but another kill from Leslie and an attack error placed the Bison up 23-19. A pair of kills from the Badgers made for a three-point match but a kill from Head brough the green and gold to match point. A service error added the final point for SHC, and the Badgers returned the favor, closing out the first set at 25-22.
Set 2
The second set started in the same fashion, until the Badgers jumped ahead with a two-point lead at 6-4. A kill from Unruh brought the Bison within a point but a 3-0 run from SHC kept the Bison at arm's length. A strong Badger offense and a few errors from OBU saw SHC lead the majority of the set, but a 22-19 score in favor of the opponent saw the Bison come alive. A service error from the opponent sparked a fire under the ladies in green and gold as a pair of aces followed, and an attack error from the Badgers put the Bison back in front. Unruh laid out the 24
th point with a kill and SHC responded with a kill of their own, but Leslie slammed the door on a Badger rally with a kill that secured the second set with a 25-23 final.
Set 3
The third and final set opened with a couple of kills from Head and
Lauren Safrit. With a 2-1 score, the Bison found their stride as a kill from Head started a 5-0 run to see the green and gold up by six. Another four-score run saw the Badgers down 11-2. SHC stayed in the fight but couldn't keep up with the heat from the Bison. A kill from Hellmuth and an error from the Badgers saw a 21-10 score. Hellmuth, Leslie and Head claimed the final kills for OBU to secure their first sweep of the season with a 25-13 final in the third set.
Bison vs. Cardinals
In the matchup against Wheeling, OBU led in points (80.0), kills (66), aces (7), blocks (7), assists (62), and digs (72). Leslie compiled 20 kills to lead the team while Head and Unruh contributed 15 each. Leslie and Boyer each tallied two aces. Safrit and Leslie each added two blocks for OBU.
Set 1
The Cardinals were first to the board in the opening stanza, but the Bison came in swinging with a four-score run to get on the board in a mighty way. The remainder of the set saw the Bison in front. The next two points went to the Cardinals but a kill from Leslie began a 5-0 run with a pair of kills from Unruh, an error from Wheeling and solid defensive work at the net from Safrit and Leslie to bring the score to 9-3. As the Cardinals tallied their fourth point, the Bison tacked on three more to put the ladies in red down by eight. A four-score run from the Cardinals followed but never did enough damage to get the Bison down. With a 20-17 score, Boyer laid down a kill to start another 3-0 run consisting of more defensive work from Boyer and Hellmuth and an ace from Lany Draper to bring the total to 23-17. A kill from Head inspired the Cardinals as Wheeling found their fight in the form of a 4-0 run but an attack error crushed their dreams of a comeback.
Set 2
Leslie got things rolling in the second set with a kill to put OBU on the board first. As both teams went point for point, a 6-5 score in favor of the Bison saw the Cardinals find their stride with a four-score run. Kills from Leslie and Safrit paired with an error from the opponent tied things up at 10-10 and forced another 3-0 run from Wheeling. Leslie tallied the 13
th point for OBU with a kill and Unruh and Hellumth collectively forced an attack error as the pair blocked the efforts from Wheeling, tying things back up at 14-14. Another three-score run saw the ladies in red jump slightly ahead. With a three-point lead at 21-18, the Cardinals tallied three more points and a service error from the Bison allowed the final point for Wheeling to even out the score at 1-1, with a 25-19 final in set two.
Set 3
Safrit came out hot with the first kill of set three to put the Bison on the board and Leslie added a pair of kills for the green and gold. The Cardinals wasted no time with a 5-0 run to take the lead. A kill and an ace from Unruh tied things up at 7-7. As Wheeling tallied their eighth point, Hellmuth brought the energy for OBU, starting a four-score run to retake the lead at 11-8. From there, the Bison held the lead with a couple of three-score runs. Head and Leslie put the nail in the coffin with a pair of kills to close out the set to put the Bison on the other side of a 25-19 final for the third set.
Set 4
The fourth and final set opened with a kill from Unruh. A response from the Cardinals ignited a 5-0 run from the green and gold. The ladies in red went on to take the next three consecutive points but OBU remained in front. Another three-score run from Wheeling tied things up at 11-11. As each team claimed their 12
th point, a pair of kills from Unruh and an ace from Leslie put the Bison ahead by three at 15-12. OBU kept their distance by a point or two, but a pair of Cardinal kills saw an even 19-19 score. The green and gold went on to take the next five consecutive points to bring the total to 24-19. Wheeling added two more to their total before a final kill from Leslie sealed the deal on a perfect 2-0 day for the ladies of OBU Volleyball.
Next up
The Bison have another pair of matches on the slate for Saturday starting with Southwest Minnesota State University at 11:30 a.m. and the host, University of West Florida at 7 p.m. to close out the SpringHIill Suites Invitational tournament.
