Plainview, Texas – The Oklahoma City Stars Volleyball team begins Sooner Athletic Conference play out with a bang as the Stars defeat the Wayland Baptist Pioneers in four sets.  

Score  

Oklahoma City 3, Wayland Baptist 1 

• Oklahoma City (2-2, 1-0)  
• Wayland Baptist (1-5, 0-1) 

 Match Summary  

Set 1: 25-6 (OCU)  

Set 2: 25-18 (OCU)  

Set 3: 27-25 (WBU)  

Set 4: 25-17 (OCU)  

Set 1  

Oklahoma City got out to a fantastic start in the first set taking a 9-1 lead right out of the gate on a handful of kills from Ruby Kelley and back-to-back service errors on Wayland to give the Stars an eight-point lead. The Pioneers trailed 10-4 as OCU caught fire, stringing together a 9-0 run to take a 19-4 lead. Michela De Stefano was a big factor for the Stars late in the first set with a kill and three consecutive aces to finish off the first set 25-6.  

Set 2  

The second set stayed much closer as the score remained within two points up to being tied at 15 all. OCU got back in rhythm going on a 5-0 finished off with a Rylee Steward kill off an Adams assist to bring the score to 20-15 in favor of the Stars. After making the score 21-17 OCU closed out the set scoring four consecutive points on kills from Steward, Kelley, and Marina Kalajdzic to win the second set 25-17.  

Set 3  

With a chance to sweep the conference opener for OCU, Wayland Baptist got off its best start of the match going up 5-2 to start the third set. Oklahoma City rattled off seven consecutive points making it a 9-5 score with a kill by Steward. Wayland stayed within reach of OCU and eventually tied the set up 16. Oklahoma City then regained the lead with kills by Steward and De Stefano until Wayland forced a four-point swing to take a 21-20 lead. Late in the set, the score remained within a point as the lead changed sides multiple times. With opportunities to win the set for Wayland Baptist Ruby Kelley came up with two big kills on two different possessions. At 25-25, the Pioneers took control with a kill by Fade Ogunbade and then a kill on the following possession from Janessa Hawkins to keep Wayland Baptist alive and forced a fourth set. 

Set 4  

OCU started the fourth set off strong with two aces by Kaitlyn Dunlap giving the Stars an early 6-3 lead. With the score sitting at 9-7 OCU found its groove going on a 5-1 run with kills from Kalajdzic and junior Emma Nickerson. The Stars maintained no less than a five-point lead throughout the remainder of the set and with more kills from Kalajdzic and Kelley, the Stars cruised to a 25-18 victory to win its first conference match of the season.  

Game Notes  

Oklahoma City set a new season-high of 65 kills to the Pioneers 35. OCU also set a season-high in aces, collecting 12 while Wayland Baptist only had five.  

Ruby Kelley notched her third consecutive double-double as the junior gathered up 18 kills with 20 digs on a .500 attack percentage. Kelley set a new season-high in kills, topping her previous total of 16 which came in the win over Carroll College on Aug. 26. 

Rylee Steward was also fierce on the attack tonight having a season-high 16 kills on a .483 attack percentage. Steward also set a new season-high of four blocks.  

The freshman out of San Antonio Natalie Adams had another big game with her second consecutive double-double on a season-high 49 assists and 13 digs.  

OCU starts 1-0 in Sooner Athletic Conference play for the second season in a row. With the win, the Stars have beaten the Pioneers 13 out of the last 14 times moving the all-time series record to 24-15 in favor of Oklahoma City.  

NEXT GAME 

The Stars turn right back around with a matchup on Saturday, Sept. 2, against the Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State at 1 PM in Goodwell, Okla.