SHAWNEE – Rylee Unruh tallied her 1,000th career kill as Oklahoma Baptist volleyball split a pair of matches at the GAC-MIAA Crossover on Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Noble Complex.

The Bison (9-3) topped Fort Hays State (7-3) by a 3-1 score in the morning before falling to #25 Emporia State (10-1) in three sets in the afternoon.

Match 1: OBU 3, FHSU 1 (25-20, 25-21, 25-27, 25-13)

In the first match against Fort Hays State, Oklahoma Baptist jumped out to an early 7-4 lead before the Tigers rallied to tie the score at 10-10. Fort Hays State pulled even two more times, but the Bison scored the final four points to secure a 25-20 victory.

Trailing by one at 12-11 midway through the second set, OBU ripped off five consecutive points to take a 16-12 lead and never looked back. Unruh tallied the 1,000th kill of her career on the Bison's 21st point of the set, giving OBU a 21-18 advantage. Addison Dale later put down the set-winning kill to give Oklahoma Baptist a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead.

The third set was the closest of the match, with Fort Hays State holding a late 24-22 lead. The Bison responded with a kill from Emily Boyer and a service ace from Mackenzie Frazee to tie the score at 24-24, but the Tigers scored three of the next five points to win the set, 27-25.

OBU dominated the fourth and final set, pulling away for a 25-13 victory. The Bison used a 9-1 run to build a 19-12 lead before scoring six of the final seven points to close out the match.

Unruh finished with a match-high 18 kills, while Boyer distributed 42 assists and Dale added seven blocks. Four Bison recorded double-digit digs, led by a career-high 19 from Shelby Jabour.

Match 2: #25 ESU 3, OBU 0 (25-17, 25-12, 29-27)

Thursday's second contest pitted the Bison against the 25th-ranked team in the country, marking OBU's fifth matchup against a ranked opponent this season. The Hornets proved to be a handful for Oklahoma Baptist, hitting .402 across the three sets and using several scoring runs to earn a 3-0 victory.

The opening set was tight early, but the Hornets scored five consecutive points to turn a 7-6 deficit into an 11-7 lead. The Bison were unable to regain the advantage as Emporia State went on to claim a 25-17 victory.

Emporia State raced out to an early lead in the second set, and Oklahoma Baptist was unable to mount a comeback as the Hornets earned a 25-12 victory.

The Bison responded in the third frame and put the Hornets on the ropes with a 24-21 lead. Emporia State fought off three consecutive set points and scored four straight to move ahead 25-24. OBU continued battling, but the Hornets eventually secured a 29-27 victory to complete the sweep.

Unruh again led the Bison with 10 kills, while Boyer distributed 22 assists. Emporia State was led by Piper Bahr's 15 kills, while Lavra Krizanic added 13 kills and hit .545 for the match.

NOTES

• Rylee Unruh became a member of the 1,000-kill/1,000-dig club Thursday, reaching 1,000 career kills during the second set of OBU's four-set victory over Fort Hays State. Unruh finished the day with 1,018 career kills and 1,071 career digs.
• Unruh is the 85th NCAA Division II player since 2022 to record 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
• Emily Boyer finished Thursday with 136 career service aces, leaving her one shy of tying OBU's career record and two away from becoming the program's all-time leader.
• The Bison improved to 2-2 all-time against Fort Hays State but fell to 4-7 against Emporia State.
• Anna Howle earned the 445th victory of her career and needs five more to reach 450.
• The loss to Emporia State snapped OBU's 10-match home winning streak, which dated to last season.
• Mackenzie Frazee surpassed 150 career blocks and ended the day with 152.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma Baptist concludes the GAC-MIAA Crossover against Pittsburg State at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11. The Bison return to Great American Conference play at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Sept. 15.