SHAWNEE – After a tough match Tuesday, Oklahoma Baptist (17-8, 9-4 GAC) is coming back to the Noble Complex to face Southern Nazarene on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
OBU was dealt a 3-1 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State on Nov. 4, a match in which the Bison hit a season-low .076. That defeat moved the green and gold into fifth place in the GAC standings with three regular-season matches left.
SNU (9-16, 4-9 GAC) earned a 3-0 win over Northwestern in its last contest on Nov. 4. That snapped a three-match losing streak for the squad from Bethany.
Historically, the Bison have owned the Crimson Storm, owning a 28-4 series advantage. Included in that is a 13-match winning streak for OBU. The last time SNU defeated the OBU was on Nov. 7, 2019. Below are notes on both teams.
Bison Notes
- The Bison's offense was out of sync against SWOSU. In fact, in three of the four sets, OBU hit no better than 0.029.
- Coming into Thursday's contest, OBU still possesses the second-best hitting team in the GAC at 0.231.
- Leading that front are Mackenzie Frazee (0.280) and Rylee Unruh (0.262), percentages that are slotted top-12 in the league.
- Unruh is also third in kills (3.12), points (3.84) and fourth in aces (40).
- The team also has a host of top-three GAC totals in aces (161), blocks (196.0), kills per set (13.39) and blocks per set (2.33).
- That block average is also the 25th-best mark in the country.
- Also of note, Karsyn Hunter checks in at fifth in the GAC in digs (376) while Emily Boyer is slotted seventh in assists (6.16).
- Over the last six home matches with SNU, dating back to Oct. 1, 2019, the Bison have only dropped three sets.
Crimson Storm Notes
- SNU's top statistical mark is its service game. They rank fifth in the GAC with 132 aces.
- As for offense, they are ninth in kills per set (11.57), assists (10.60) and 11th in team attacks per set (35.89).
- Defensively, SNU has given up a .254 hitting percentage to opponents. That's last (12th) in the GAC.
- Individually, Kate Wright is second in the league in kills per set (3.47) and points (3.85).
- Teammate Hannah Morgan is fifth in aces per set (0.45) while Brelee Mauldin has the same placement in assists (6.71).
- The last time Southern Nazarene won in Shawnee was Sept. 13, 2018 in five sets. That's a span of 2,611 days.
