OKLAHOMA CITY -  The Oklahoma City volleyball team took each set the three-set match down to the wire suffering a season sweep to Texas Wesleyan in 2024. 

Texas Wesleyan 3, Oklahoma City 0

Set 1: 25-20
Set 2: 25-23
Set 3: 25-17

STAT OF THE MATCH: Oklahoma City led the match with six aces to the Rams five while Natalie Adams served up four of them, second-highest total of the season. 

THE RUNDOWN

Set 1
Oklahoma City challenged the Rams early by leaping out to a 7-5 lead after five different Stars pitched in with a kill. Texas Wesleyan was able to regain the lead and eventually rattled off a 5-0 run as the Stars struggled on the offensive end. Oklahoma City swung right back with five straight points of its own as Natalie Adams delivered two aces to help tie things up at 15. Texas Wesleyan went on to take a four point lead before the Stars once again cut it back to one, however that would be as close as OCU could get as the Rams finished the set on a 5-1 run. 

Set 2
Oklahoma City got off to another strong start as Grace Smallwood put down a pair of kills for an early lead of 6-3. Texas Wesleyan worked its way to a three point lead before two more aces from Adams tied the set 12-12. From that point on neither side could gain more than a one point lead up until Wesleyan reached back out at 20-17. Oklahoma City was able knot things back up at 22 all after back-to-back kills by Michela De Stefano and once again at 23-23 after a block by Ruby Kelley and Erin Mack. The Rams refused to let the Stars in front going on to score the next two points for the win. 

Set 3
Texas Wesleyan came out with a strong attack sending down three straight kills with four of them coming in the midst of a 5-1 run out of the gate. After leading by six Texas Wesleyan extended to its largest lead of nine at 20-11. Oklahoma City came storming back with a 6-1 run as Bailey Lowder stepped in and sent down two kills while Smallwood delivered one ace and one kill of her own. Leading 21-17 the Rams cruised their way to winning the match by scoring the final four points to win 25-17. 


Game Notes

• Oklahoma City suffers its seventh three-set loss of the season moving its record to 14-13 while holding a 14-7 record in conference play.
• Grace Smallwood led the Stars with eight kills while tying a season-high of three blocks. 
• Natalie Adams came away with a match-high 17 assists bringing her season total to 548 and her career total to 1,341.
• Joeci Hunt came away with a team-high 11 digs her eighth time this year reaching double-digits. 
• Oklahoma City drops its seventh straight match to Texas Wesleyan while holding a the series lead 17-15 since 2006. 

Up Next
Oklahoma City wraps up the regular season with Nelson at 1:00 PM on Saturday inside Abe Lemons Arena. 

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