Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Close matches have become the norm when SWOSU Volleyball matches up with Great American Conference newcomer and Tuesday night's meeting between the teams at the Noble Complex followed that pattern.
Oklahoma Baptist won the first two sets by close scores of 25-22 and 27-25, but SWOSU was not deterred as they won the third (25-22) and fourth (25-23) sets, taking the match the distance before the Bison won the deciding set 15-6 to win the match. The defeat is the first time this season the Bulldogs have lost a match in the fifth set.
Through four sets, the match featured 43 ties and 22 lead changes and never featured either team with a lead of more than five points. OBU quickly changed that in the fifth as they built a 6-0 lead and led 8-2 at the turn to gain control. SWOSU pulled within four at 10-6 but would get no closer as the Bisons scored the final five points to claim the victory.
Kayla Hebert set new season-highs with 53 assists and 25 digs to go along with two blocks, but she was held without a kill for only the second time this season.
Kaila Lancaster added 23 digs as the Bulldogs had 103 digs compared to 101 for the Bisons in the match.
Ariana Olson (17) and
Lindsey McCauley (11) also reached double figures in digs.
Carly Zak was steady in all phases, setting a new season-high with 21 kills on 64 attack attempts, also a season-high, while hitting .266 for the match. Zak added a double-double as she tied her career high with 20 digs.
Paige Holt tied her season-best with 15 kills and hit .344 for the match while her partner in the middle,
Kelsi Schmidtberger, finished with 11 kills and hit .312 on the night.
DeLayni Fine added nine kills, four digs and two blocks.
Oklahoma Baptist earns the season sweep of SWOSU and drops the Bulldogs to 17-10 on the year and 8-5 in GAC play with three matches remaining. The Bulldogs will be on their home court at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Thursday night for Senior Night against East Central with first serve slated for 7:00 pm.
