Volleyball 11/10/2019 9:03:00 PM

OCU earns top seed in SAC Tournament

18th-ranked Stars face Panhandle State at 6 p.m. Tuesday

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University secured the No. 1 seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference volleyball tournament starting Tuesday on campus sites.
The Stars (30-1, 20-0 SAC) face Panhandle State at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals. The tournament semifinals and championship will be at Abe Lemons Arena. The SAC Tournament semifinals will be 1 and 3 p.m. Friday with the title match noon Saturday.
Oklahoma City, ranked 18th in the NAIA, reeled in its fourth SAC regular-season championship in a row and has won the past three SAC Tournament titles. The Stars hauled in one of the SAC's national-tournament berths, and the conference's other bid is at stake in the SAC Tournament.
The Stars turned in the 12th unbeaten SAC mark in conference history. OCU went unbeaten in SAC play for the second time after going 18-0 in 2016. The Stars own 26 wins in a row in SAC play and a 29-match winning string overall.
OCU's Sophia Salak, a sophomore setter from McKinney, Texas, ranks seventh in assists per set (10.85) and eighth in aces (58) among the NAIA. Salak is the five-time SAC setter of the week. The Stars rank fourth in aces per set (2.55), sixth in aces (263) and 10th in assists a set (12.76) as a team.
Marijana Bjelobrk, a senior from Belgrade, Serbia, needs 36 kills to tie the Stars' career record of 1,431 produced by Xiaoting Ma from 2008-10. Bjelobrk became the SAC Tournament most valuable player in leading OCU to the 2018 tournament title. Isabel Harwell, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., tops the conference with 5.03 digs a set. Harwell owns four SAC defender of the week nods.
The NAIA Championship Opening Round will play out Nov. 23 on campus sites around the country. The NAIA Championships take place Dec. 3-7 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
At Campus Sites
Tuesday's Matches
No. 8 Panhandle State (9-19) at No. 1 Oklahoma City (30-1), 6 p.m.
No. 7 Southwestern Christian (14-14) at No. 2 Texas Wesleyan (22-7), 7 p.m.
No. 6 Wayland Baptist (14-18) at No. 3 John Brown (25-7), 7 p.m.
No. 5 Mid-America Christian (14-11) at No. 4 SW Assemblies of God (21-8), 7 p.m.
At Oklahoma City
Abe Lemons Arena
Friday, Nov. 15
Semifinals
MACU-SAGU winner vs. OCU-OPSU winner
JBU-WBU winner vs. SCU-TXWES winner
Saturday, Nov. 16
Championship
Semifinal winners, noon

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Players Mentioned

#11 Marijana Bjelobrk: RSH; 6' 1"; Senior

#5 Isabel Harwell: DS/Libero; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#10 Sophia Salak: S; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#11 Marijana Bjelobrk
: 6' 1"; Senior
: RSH

#5 Isabel Harwell
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: DS/Libero

#10 Sophia Salak
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: S

Players Mentioned

#11 Marijana Bjelobrk

#5 Isabel Harwell

#10 Sophia Salak

Players Mentioned

#11 Marijana Bjelobrk

#5 Isabel Harwell

#10 Sophia Salak