OKLAHOMA CITY - After dropping the first two sets Oklahoma City battles its way back forcing a fifth set however the Stars comeback fell short going down three sets to two on Saturday afternoon in heartbreaking fashion.

Score     

Wayland Baptist 3, Oklahoma City 2     

• Oklahoma City (9-8, 8-4 SAC)     
• Wayland Baptist (7-9, 6-5 SAC)    

Match Summary     

Set 1: 25-19 (WBU)     

Set 2: 25-21 (WBU)     

Set 3: 25-14 (OCU)     

Set 4: 26-24 (OCU)  

Set 5: 15-9 (WBU) 

Set 1  

The Stars got out to a strong start in the opening set after taking a 5-1 lead on back-to-back kills by Ruby Kelley and Natalie Adams. OCU was able to maintain the lead halfway through, however, the Pioneers tied things up for the first time after a 6-2 run led by Fade Ogunbade putting the score at 13-13 leading to an Oklahoma City timeout. They traded hands a couple of times as Kelley delivered a kill to tie it up at 17. The tides began to shift in the wrong direction as the Pioneers rattled off seven consecutive points and closed out the first set on an 8-2 run securing a 25-19 win.  

Set 2   

Neither side could get out too much of a lead to begin the second set as the lead traded hands before the Wayland Baptist went ahead by the three, the largest lead so far in the set at 11-8. OCU went on to score three straight behind a pair of kills by Gabrielle Fjeseth and one from Kelley. The Pioneers came right back scoring three straight of their own and gained enough momentum to stretch the score out to 22-16. The Stars refused to give in and made their way back by scoring five in a row as Emma Nickerson brought down a big kill to help bring the deficit to just one of 22-21. After a Wayland timeout, the Pioneers came out firing with three straight points behind kills from Selma Sutaj and Carlee to win the set 25-21.  

Set 3   

Oklahoma City came out in the third set completely revived, going off on a 10-3 run to open the set with Rylee Steward picking up three kills during that span. Later on in the set, it was still all Stars as OCU went on another run of 7-1 with kills from Steward and Emma Nickerson to take a big lead of 21-9. Nickerson and Kelley were able to tally one kill a piece as the Stars cruised to a 25-14 victory to stay alive.   

Set 4  

OCU carried the momentum from set three into set four by scoring the first five points of the set as Kelley pitched in with the first kill and Steward and Nickerson had two kills each to put OCU ahead early 5-0. Wayland was able to inch its way back in it after a 6-1 run to give the Pioneers their first lead of the set of 11-9. Down by two, the Stars pulled off a 7-2 counter as three straight attacks by Fjeseth, Steward, and Kelley helped regain the lead of 16-14. Getting late into the set the score was tied 23-23 as neither side could extend a lead of more than two. Selma from Wayland Baptist delivered a kill to give the Pioneers a match-point opportunity. Down 24-23 the Stars overcame adversity and battled back with three straight points to win the fourth set 26-24 behind an ace from Jaiden Downey.  

Set 5 

After dropping the last two sets Wayland Baptist came back outscoring OCU 5-1 early on forcing a timeout from OCU. Oklahoma City closed the gap down to 8-5, 10-7, and 12-9 however every time the Stars got closer it was the Wayland Baptist who always had an answer. After Kelley made it a 12-9 score the Pioneers closed out the final set with three consecutive points to halt the Stars potential comeback and claim a 15-9 victory.  

GAME NOTES   

• Oklahoma City notched 52 kills on a .180 hitting percentage with two of its player in double figure kills.  
• Wayland Baptist held the edge over OCU with 62 kills on a .210 attack percentage while having three players with double-digit kills.   
• Oklahoma City made 75 digs for the afternoon making it the fourth-most digs in a match they have had this season.  
• Ruby Kelley secured another double-double which is her seventh of the season after going for 16 kills and 15 digs. Kelley reaches double-digit kills for the 11th time this season. 
• Rylee Steward had a big day tying a season-high of 16 kills while establishing her second-most blocks in a match this season with six.  
• Natalie Adams reached 45 assists for the second game in a row to give Adams the most assists she has had this season in a five-set match.  
• Kaitlyn Dunlap set a new season-high in digs with 29 in today's match surpassing her previous season-high total of 28 set on Sept. 16 against Texas Wesleyan. Dunlap's 29 digs make it the fourth time she has gone over 20 or more digs this season.     
• Today's game concludes the season series between these two schools as they will settle with a split as OCU previously won back on Sept. 1 in four sets.  
• Entering the match OCU had won 13 out of the last 14 matchups. Despite the loss, the series record moves to 24-16 in favor of the Stars dating back to 2006.  

NEXT GAME   

The Oklahoma City volleyball team will go on the road for the first time since Sept. 21 as the Stars will play a big game against John Brown in Plainview, Texas on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 PM in Siloam Springs, Ark.