OKLAHOMA CITY – Xiaoting Ma continued her hot hitting in Oklahoma City University's 25-13, 25-17, 16-25, 25-14 win over Mid-America Christian on Thursday at the Gaulke Activity Center.
Ma, a senior from Dalian, China, rang up 18 kills and 16 digs to lead the Stars (17-9, 7-3 Sooner Athletic Conference). Ma has hit better than .300 in six consecutive matches.
Ma posted a .469 hitting percentage (18 kills in 32 attacks with three errors) against Mid-America. The past six contests include Ma's .750 hitting performance (18 kills in 24 attacks without an error) against Bryan (Tenn.) on Saturday. She had her lowest output during this span with a .303 hitting (25 kills in 66 attempts and five errors) vs. Lindenwood (Mo.) on Saturday.
Ma's combined hitting percentage in six matches has been .387 – 129 kills and 25 errors in 269 attacks for 4.96 kills per set.
“Our hitters have putting away a ton of balls,” OCU coach Jen Gomez said. “That's solid play.”
Alex Benbrook, a junior from Enid, Okla., tallied 11 kills and four blocks while hitting .647 for OCU. Vicky Murphy, a junior from Spring, Texas, produced eight kills, four digs and two blocks.
OCU used a 6-0 run to take a first-set 15-8 advantage. Murphy started OCU's spree by nailing a kill. Raissa Santos added a kill during that span, and Ma capped the run with a kill. Santos gave the Stars set point and the winning point on kills.
Down two sets, Mid-America answered in the third set by putting together an 8-0 run en route to winning the set.
In the fourth set, OCU scored six consecutive points to build a 17-7 lead. Benbrook pounded out two kills and got in on two blocks, one solo, in that Stars splurge. Ma sealed the victory by knocking down the kill.
OCU faces 18th-ranked Oklahoma Baptist at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Shawnee, Okla.
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