OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Stars volleyball team faced John Brown for the third time this season after splitting the regular series. Ruby Kelley led the way with 14 kills and five aces to help the Stars take down JBU in four sets to advance to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time in two years. 


Score    

Oklahoma City 3, John Brown 1    

• Oklahoma City (14-12)    
• Science & Arts (21-11)    

Match Summary    

Set 1: 25-19 (JBU)    

Set 2: 25-15 (OCU)    

Set 3: 25-20 (OCU)    

Set 4: 25-19 (OCU)

Set 1

OCU got off to a fast 7-4 start after a pair of kills from Ruby Kelley as well as Emma Nickerson and Natalie Adams also pitching in. John Brown was able to turn the deficit around on an 8-2 run as two aces and a kill by Julie Milligan gave the Golden Eagles a 12-9 lead. OCU clawed its way back to tie it up at 14 all after a 6-2 run with two more kills coming from Kelley. JBU never dwindled its lead for the rest of the way and after the Stars cut it down to two John Brown closed out the set with four straight points to win 25-19.

Set 2  

Once again the Stars came out firing on all cylinders taking a 7-1 lead to start the set with a pair of kills from both Nickerson and Kelley each. JBU cut the Oklahoma City lead down to four but OCU ran away on an 8-1 run with three more kills coming from Nickerson during that stretch. Taking a 23-10 lead after a kill from Michela De Stefano the Golden Eagles rattled off straight points to keep themselves alive however the deficit became too much as Kelley and Rylee Steward finished off the second set with kills to even up the match 1-1. 

Set 3  

This time the set began with both sides trading blows as JBU tied it 6-6 after three consecutive points. OCU hit its stride with a 6-0 run as Kelley, Steward, and Adams all got in on the mix to help put OCU on top 12-6. Once again after JBU cut the deficit down to four the Stars used their efforts to put together a 6-1 run and take a 20-11 lead. John Brown found a way to get back in it with five straight points however with the Stars still leading by five and two points away from a third set victory, the Stars closed out the set with ease after kills by De Stefano and Steward to win 25-20. 

Set 4

The fourth set was back and forth to begin things, but a 7-1 run by John Brown gave the Golden Eagles their first ounce of momentum since the first set. Trailing 14-8 the Stars flipped a switch and exploded on a 15-2 run as Kelley delivered a pair of aces along with a kill while De Stefano, Steward, and Gabrielle Fjeseth all pitched in to help OCU out to a 23-16 lead. Leading 24-19 and one point away from winning the match, Steward delivered the match-clinching kill to send OCU on to the semifinal round.

GAME NOTES  

• Oklahoma City outlasted the Golden Eagles by a 47-44 margin in kills while OCU finished with a .165 attack percentage with JBU having a .141 attack percentage. 
• Ruby Kelley earned back-to-back double-doubles making it the 11th time this season she had done so. Kelley picked up 14 kills with 11 digs while reaching a season-high five aces.
• Emma Nickerson followed Kelley with the second-most kills on the team with 11 while Rylee Steward came next with nine kills along with seven blocks. 
• Natalie Adams had yet another big night to keep her stellar freshman campaign going after notching 31 assists making it the 10th time this season Adams has gone over 30 assists. Adams also found herself on the attack by picking up a season-high six kills. 
• The libero Kaitlyn Dunlap had a solid performance as Dunlap led the way for the match with 19 digs.
• The Stars split the season series with John Brown in the regular season and gained the upper hand in the quarterfinal round as all three matches with the Golden Eagles in 2023 finished in four sets.  
•  The Stars claimed their revenge on John Brown after falling to the Golden Eagles back-to-back years in the quarterfinal round as Oklahoma City will be advancing to the semifinal round for the first time since the spring season of 2021. 

NEXT GAME  

The Oklahoma City volleyball team will pick things back up on Friday. Nov. 10 at 4 PM as the five-seeded Stars will be taking on the one-seed Southwestern Assemblies of God in Waxahachie, Texas.