SEARCY, Ark. — Oklahoma Baptist dropped a hard-fought four-set match to Harding on Friday, falling 23-25, 26-24, 17-25, 18-25 inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The loss moved the Bison to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in Great American Conference play, while Harding improved to 14-3 and matched OBU with a 5-1 league record.

Rylee Unruh led the Bison offense with an impressive 17 kills on a .326 hitting percentage, while also adding 15 digs and a service ace. Addison Dale turned in a balanced effort at the net, collecting five kills and a team-high eight total blocks. Middle hitter Allie Stricker added eight kills, while Mackenzie Frazee and Melody Donegan chipped in six and five kills, respectively.

Setter Emily Boyer directed the attack with 20 assists and added nine digs, while libero Karsyn Hunter anchored the defense with a team-best 22 digs.

After dropping the opening set 25-23, the Bison responded in a thrilling second frame. Unruh and Dale sparked OBU to a 26-24 win that evened the match, helping the Bison erase a 24-22 deficit to win 26-24 and even the match.

However, HU took control in the final two sets behind efficient hitting and timely serving, closing the match with .313 and .289 attack percentages in sets three and four.

Harding's Josie Bishop and Ella Drake each tallied 13-plus kills, while setter Olivia Wiedower dished out 54 assists and added 13 digs to complete a double-double. Jacey Lambert led all players with 14 kills on a .458 clip.

Despite the setback, Oklahoma Baptist showed grit in long rallies and defensive intensity that kept the match competitive. The Bison return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Arkansas Tech.