OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University split its season-opening matches in the first day of the Oklahoma City Classic on Friday at Abe Lemons Arena.

The Stars knocked off Oklahoma Wesleyan 25-12, 25-13, 25-11 before falling to Wiley (Texas) 25-19, 16-25, 25-23, 25-18 in the nightcap.

The OCU Classic continues Saturday with six matches starting with Oklahoma Wesleyan vs. Southern Nazarene at 9 a.m. OCU faces College of the Ozarks (Mo.) at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Against Oklahoma Wesleyan, the Stars closed out the first set on a 12-2 run. Torrie Flynn, a freshman from Edmond, Okla., contributed back-to-back kills and combined with Vicky Murphy on a block during that span. Murphy, a junior from Spring, Texas, added a pair of kills during the Stars' spree.

OCU put away Oklahoma Wesleyan using eight unanswered points in the third set behind Victoria Cross' serving. Raissa Santos chipped in two kills, while Cross knocked down an ace as the Stars built a 12-3 advantage.

Xiaoting Ma, a senior from Dalian, China, and Santos, a junior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, topped the Stars with nine kills each. Ma added 10 digs and two blocks. Murphy and Alex Benbrook each recorded eight kills and two blocks.

Samantha Ball, a junior from Edmond, Okla., dished out a team-high 27 assists, while Cross, a junior from Oklahoma City, picked up 13 digs.

Against Wiley, Ma had 18 kills, 10 digs and two blocks. Benbrook, a junior from Enid, Okla., put together 15 kills and three blocks, while Santos had eight kills and six digs. Ball recorded 44 assists, and Kayli Jordan led OCU with 13 digs.

In the second set, OCU tallied five of the last six points. Santos knocked down back-to-back kills, and Ma nailed a kill as well to get to set point. Wiley overcame a 6-0 deficit in the third set en route to the win.
OCU-OWU stats
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