Volleyball Comes Up Short at No. 23 Oklahoma Baptist
SHAWNEE, Okla. (October 31, 2014) – Going for the season split against Oklahoma Baptist, the Golden Eagles (17-10, 7-6 SAC) came up short, falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) at No. 23 OBU on Friday night (Oct. 31) at the Noble Complex.
After the Golden Eagles scored the first point, the Bison went on a 10-0 spurt to pull in front 10-1. Down 10 at 17-7, JBU used an 8-2 run to close the deficit to five at 20-15. Audrey Dearien got back-to-back kills to start the run, and JBU was aided by five OBU errors. Four of the next five points went in OBU’s favor as they moved to two points from taking the set at 23-16. The Golden Eagles responded with three straight kills, including two from Melissa Bakke, to stay in the set at 23-19. An attack error gave OBU set point, and the Bison took advantage quickly with a service ace lifting them to a 25-19 set one win.
In the first set, the Golden Eagles scored a match-best 12 kills, however, 11 attack errors held JBU to a first set hitting percentage of .025. The Bison didn’t need to generate much offense as they totaled seven kills and four errors for a .115 hitting percentage.
OBU carried their momentum into the second set, scoring the first three points – all coming from JBU errors. Tiffany Hunnicutt put down two balls and a Bison miscue knotted the score at 3-3. OBU gained a five-point edge, 12-7, forcing JBU to take a timeout. A 5-1 run by OBU allowed them to get in front with points coming from three kills and two service aces. Seven of the next eight points went in the Golden Eagles favor, pushing them to take a 14-13 edge. A 6-2 spurt from the Bison helped them regain the lead at 19-16. The two teams traded points with JBU trailing by only two at 21-19 after another OBU miscue. The Bison used a 4-1 run to end the set at 25-20 with a block giving them the set win.
In the third set, OBU tallied 16 kills and hit a set-best .263 to take the set, 25-18. The final set was back-and-forth early with neither team gaining control. OBU held an 8-5 edge in the early going and slowly built up a 14-9 lead. Nine of the next 11 points went in the Bison’s favor as they gained a sizable 21-10 advantage. With OBU two points from victory at 23-11, JBU made a late charge, scoring seven of eight points for a 24-18 deficit. The Bison put away the set and match with a kill from Ezgi Guney to win 25-18.
One match after going over 1,000 kills for her career, Audrey Dearien totaled seven kills, a team-high tied with Melissa Bakke. Setters Shayna Daniels (13) and Alyssa Arnold (11) combined to total 24 of the 27 JBU assists. Becca Young had a strong performance defensively, digging up a match-high 16 balls.
The Golden Eagles struggled with 24 errors, including 11 by Dearien. For the match, JBU hit .040 with 29 kills on 126 attempts.
With a strong performance in the third set, OBU hit .168 for the match, totaling 31 kills and 14 errors on 101 attempts. The Bison hit .263 in the final set.
OBU’s Shekinah Sharpe tallied a match-high nine kills, hitting .350. She missed a double-double by one kills as she finished with 11 digs. Ezgi Guney led in assists with 21, and she went 4-for-4 in attacks, totaling four kills and 1.000 hitting percentage.
The Golden Eagles return to action tomorrow (Nov. 1) at St. Gregory’s at 11 a.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
