OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University advanced past the NAIA Volleyball Championship Opening Round with a 25-20, 25-11, 22-25, 25-13 triumph over Wiley (Texas) on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars (31-3) clinched a spot in the NAIA Championships on Nov. 27-Dec. 1 in Sioux City, Iowa. The NAIA will release the pool-play pairings Monday.
Oklahoma City will play in the NAIA volleyball championships for the second time in three years and third time overall. The Stars won in the Opening Round for the second time while playing at home in the Opening Round for the first time.
Lacy Beeler, a sophomore from Jenks, Okla., propelled OCU with a team-best 17 kills. Beeler nailed the kill to finish off Wiley.
"We're super excited and stoked to be going to Sioux City," OCU coach Santiago Restrepo said. "I don't know what is ahead of us, but I can't wait to compete with this team. This match and in the conference tournament final, I've seen us make improvement on following the game plan. We followed the game plan tonight."
The Stars' Marijana Bjelobrk, a junior from Belgrade, Serbia, posted 14 kills, six digs and two blocks, while Taylor Horton, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., totaled 30 assists, six digs and two blocks.
Lauren Hermes, a junior from The Colony, Texas, delivered 19 digs, four assists and three aces, and Caitlin Bosarge, a sophomore from Mustang, Okla., contributed 14 digs and two aces for OCU.
The Stars tallied the final six points of the match. Beeler threw down three kills, and Kenady Bertling nailed two kills during that surge.
In the first set, OCU overcame 9-5 and 4-1 deficits. Beeler hammered three kills, and Michelle Krenowicz served up an ace to key a 6-0 run to put OCU on top 11-9. Bjelobrk recorded an ace as the Stars pulled away from a 15-15 tie with four consecutive points.