SHAWNEE, Okla. – The SWOSU Volleyball team suffered their first Great American Conference loss of the season on Thursday, falling in four sets to Oklahoma Baptist at the Noble Complex in Shawnee. In the second half of a tri-match, the Bulldogs played a five-set thriller against Arkansas-Fort Smith before falling in the final frame.
 
SWOSU (11-4, 4-1 GAC) returns to action next weekend with a conference road trip to face Arkansas-Monticello (Sept. 28) and Southern Arkansas (Sept. 29).
 
Oklahoma Baptist 3, SWOSU 1
(24-26, 12-25, 25-19, 18-25)
Box Score
 
SWOSU had a shot at set point in the first, but OBU responded with three straight points and went on to take a commanding 2-0 lead after two sets. SWOSU responded and took the third set and kept the fourth set close until OBU pulled away in the final few points.
 
SWOSU hit .127 for the match with 39 kills and 17 hitting errors, but the biggest advantage for OBU was in digs, with the Bison scooping up 110 compared to 87 for the Dawgs.
 
Leading the way for the Dawgs was Elizabeth McVicker, who put down 12 kills without committing a hitting error, while Danusia Sipa Borgeaud finished with eight kills and Emily Holm added seven. Kaitlyn Dillon hit the 30-dig plateau for the third time this season, totaling 31 digs to go along with five assists. Allie Hoang chipped in a double-double after finishing with 25 assists and 17 digs.
 
Arkansas-Fort Smith 3, SWOSU 2
(21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 9-15)
Box Score
 
SWOSU battled valiantly against the regional power from Arkansas-Fort Smith, pushing the Lions to the brink before UAFS prevailed 3-2 in a thrilling five-set contest.
 
The Bulldogs dropped the first and third sets, but had an answer each time the fell behind. SWOSU hit .333 in the second set with 17 kills, a number they matched in the fourth set to again tie the match up and force the fifth and deciding set.
 
In the fifth, UAFS would begin to pull away, going up 7-3 and forcing SWOSU to call time. The Bulldogs would respond with a four-point run that made it 11-9 and forced the Lions to use both of their timeouts. Following the last timeout, a SWOSU service error would spark a four-point spurt from UAFS that would close out the set at 15-9.
 
SWOSU was led by a monster effort from McVicker, who put down a season-best 21 kills with just three hitting errors for a .429 hitting percentage. Borgeaud added 17 kills while Holm had 11 and Jenny Tackett chipped in 10. The Bulldogs finished the match with 97 digs, getting five different into double figures, led by Dillon (29) and Klemson Lancaster (20). Hoang notched her second double-double of the day with a career-high 55 assists and 14 digs.