CANYON, TX – An incredible comeback victory over Wisconsin-Parkside, followed by an upset of #19 West Texas A&M, capped off a perfect 4-0 weekend for Oklahoma Baptist volleyball as the Bison finished undefeated at the BritKare Lady Buff Classic.

OBU (4-0) rallied from a 24-19 deficit in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set against Parkside (3-1), taking down the Rangers in dramatic fashion before capping off the day with a four-set victory over the Lady Buffs (2-2).

The Bison will face another ranked opponent when they open their home slate on Tuesday, Sept. 1 against #12 Central Oklahoma. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start inside the Noble Complex.

Match 1: OBU 3, Parkside 2 (21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 17-15)
In what proved to be the most exciting match of the weekend, Oklahoma Baptist rallied from a 24-19 deficit in the fourth set to force a match-deciding fifth set and pick up its third-straight win of the weekend. The Bison built an early 10-6 lead in the first set, but the Rangers were able to mount a comeback and take the first set by a 25-21 score.

OBU tied things up in the second set by using a 6-1 run late in the set to break a 19-19 tie and tie things at one set apiece. Parkside was able to hold off a late Bison rally in the third set to snag a 25-23 win and put Oklahoma Baptist on the brink of defeat.

Trailing 24-19 in the fourth set, the Bison ripped off eight-straight points, capped off by a Parkside attack error, to earn a thrilling 26-24 set victory and send the match to a decisive fifth set. In the fifth set, OBU again found itself facing defeat when it trailed 14-12, but a kill by Rylee Unruh would ignite a 3-0 run and the Bison held off the Rangers for a 17-15 set victory.

Unruh led all players with 22 kills while Melody Donegan tallied 11. Emily Boyer had 53 assists, and Elle Parisi tallied a career-high 29 digs. The Bison had 10 service aces as four different players had at least two aces each.

Match 2: OBU 3, #19 WTAMU 1 (17-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-19)
After falling behind by a set to the 19th ranked team in the country, Oklahoma Baptist won three-straight sets to cap off the weekend with a massive victory. West Texas A&M got out to a big early lead in the first set en route to a 25-17 set victory.

The Bison responded by racing out to an 8-0 lead in the second set and never led by less than six the rest of the way to earn a 25-14 set victory and tie the match at 1-1. OBU erased an early 6-2 deficit in the third set and went up 2-1 thanks to a 25-21 third-set win.

The Lady Buffs jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set, but a 6-0 run in the early going put the Bison up 9-7 and OBU never relinquished the lead as Donegan slammed home the winning point to give Oklahoma Baptist a 25-19 victory in the fourth and final set.

Donegan finished with a match-high 15 kills, matching her career-high which came in Friday's win over Adams State. Addison Dale also posted a career-high with 11 kills, while Reese Renfrow added nine. Boyer tallied 42 assists and 13 digs while Parisi finished with 17 digs. 

NOTES
• OBU's 4-0 start is its best since the 2020 season, when the team went 18-0 (season was played in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19)
• It is also the second-best start of the Division II era and the second-best start since the program was revived in 2008
• The win over #19 West Texas A&M is OBU's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating then #15 Northwest Missouri State on Sept. 9, 2023
• Rylee Unruh recorded 33 digs over the weekend to push her career total to 988 (750 at OBU)

UP NEXT
Oklahoma Baptist will face #12 Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at the Noble Complex. The Bison will then head to Florida for four matches, facing Florida Southern (Sept. 3), Missouri-St. Louis (Sept. 4), #2 Tampa (Sept. 4), and Francis Marion (Sept. 5).