ENID, OK – After falling behind by two sets, Oklahoma Baptist volleyball rallied to send things to a fifth set but ultimately came up short in a 3-2 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the 2026 Great American Conference Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Stride Bank Center in Enid.

The Bison (24-6) never quite found their offensive footing as the Bulldogs (20-10) exacted a measure of revenge after being swept by OBU in last year's GAC Tournament championship match. Oklahoma Baptist will now wait to see if it earns an at-large bid to the NCAA Central Regional when selections are made on Sunday, Nov. 15.

In the first set, neither team was able to gain much of an advantage until the midpoint when SWOSU scored six points in a row to take a 16-11 lead. The Bison rallied to get within two (17-15) but could never take the lead as the Bulldogs earned a 25-19 first-set win.

The second set saw Southwestern jump on top early, but OBU fought back to take an 11-10 lead thanks to a four-point run that included a pair of SWOSU attack errors. With the score tied at 18-18, SWOSU scored three points in a row to go up 21-18 and closed out the set on a Bison attack error for a 25-21 set victory.

The third set was by far the most entertaining of the day, featuring a 6-0 run by Oklahoma Baptist that turned a 19-13 deficit into a 19-19 tie in the late stages. Facing set point at 24-22, the Bison ripped off three points in a row to go up 25-24 and put the Bulldogs on the brink. SWOSU tied it at 25-25, but OBU responded with a pair of points to take a 27-25 third-set win.

The fourth set was all OBU as the Bison took a 5-0 lead out of the gate and never trailed en route to a 25-16 set victory that sent the match to a decisive fifth set. Leading by just three (19-16) in the late stages, Oklahoma Baptist reeled off a 6-0 run and closed out the set on a kill by Taya McReynolds.

Southwestern Oklahoma State grabbed early momentum in the fifth set by scoring the opening two points, and despite its best effort to get swing momentum back, Oklahoma Baptist was unable to grab a lead at any point, falling by a final score of 15-12.

Rylee Unruh led all players with 28 kills while tallying 11 digs and two aces. McReynolds finished with 14 kills and Mackenzie Frazee added eight of her own to go along with to block assists. Emily Boyer finished with a match-high 53 assists, and Elle Parisi had 28 digs. Boyer (15), Ellie Gehrke (13), and Lauren Safrit (13) also had double-digit dig totals.

OBU hit .184 on the attack while the Bulldogs connected at a .201 clip. SWOSU finished with eight blocks to Oklahoma Baptist's three and outpaced the Bison in service aces by a 5-3 tally.

NOTES

• Oklahoma Baptist fell to 16-6 all-time in the GAC Tournament, including a 5-2 record in the semifinals.
• The Bison are now 2-1 when facing SWOSU in the conference tournament, and dropped to 2-3 in five-set contests at the GAC Tournament.
• Unruh finishes her career with 124 kills in career GAC Tournament matches (20.7 kills/match). She also posted 90 digs in those six contests.
• OBU saw its streak of five-straight GAC Tournament semifinal victories come to an end. The Bison had not lost in the semis since 2017.

UP NEXT
If the Bison are to move on in the postseason, they will have to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Central Regional. Selections for regional play will be announced at 9 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.