WEATHERFORD, Okla. (Jan. 24, 2021) – Throughout Oklahoma Christian's athletic history, there have been plenty of improbable wins through the decades, but few of them had the historical heft of what OC's volleyball team accomplished on Sunday afternoon.

In the Eagles' first intercollegiate volleyball match since fall 1983, a young squad with 17 freshmen showed little fear, taking the first set and then rallying late for a 3-2 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.

Any thoughts the Eagles might be pushovers during this spring-semester season (and plenty of outsiders think that, as evidenced by OC's last-place finish in the Lone Star Conference's preseason poll) quickly were diminished as they held their own against a Southwestern team coming off a winning season and picked to finish second this season in the Great American Conference's Western Division.

OC (1-0) won the first set 25-22 before the Bulldogs rebounded to go ahead, winning 26-24 and 28-26 in the next two sets. The Eagles rebounded with a 25-22 win in the fourth set, then jumped to a 5-0 lead in the fifth set before prevailing 15-12.

"It was our goal from the beginning to win the first match," OC coach Barry Wheeler said. "Winning that first set really helped set that bar where we wanted it. It's tremendous to be able to pull this off in our first match."

The stars abounded for OC. Junior middle hitter Kelsie Schiefelbein posted a stellar .444 hitting percentage, finishing with 10 kills, two assists, eight digs and four block assists. Freshman middle hitter Morgan Demuth (12), junior defensive specialist Kyla Chavez (10) and sophomore middle hitter Caitlynne Hudgens (10) also had double-figure kills for the Eagles.

Freshman setters Jessica Souza, with 22 assists and 19 digs, and Spencer Plato, with 30 assists, eight digs and seven aces, also had stellar performances. Defensive specialist Alexandra Aponte Torres, another freshman, added 28 digs and four assists.

The Eagles' starting lineup for their first match in almost four decades included Schiefelbein, Chavez, Hannah Rouse, Souza, Demuth, Hudgins and Aponte Torres as the libero. OC's first point – after Southwestern had won the first two – came on an attack error by the Bulldogs' Taryn Galt and Plato followed with an ace to tie the match, part of a four-point run that gave OC its first lead.

Southwestern (0-1) went ahead 7-5 in the set, but OC rallied to go up 13-10 and stayed ahead the rest of the set, with Hudgins delivering the set-clinching kill.

OC led 21-17 in the second set before the Bulldogs outscored OC 9-3 the rest of the way. The Eagles rallied from five points down to tie the third set numerous times, but Southwestern held on to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

With the fourth set tied 8-8, OC scored eight of the next 10 points to seize control. Southwestern tied the set at 21-21 and 22-22, but Southwestern's Allie Hoang had a bad set and Emma Cohalla followed with an attack error. Alonzo then served a set-clinching ace for the Eagles.

An ace by Plato and a kill by Demuth helped stake the Eagles to a 5-0 lead in the final set. The Bulldogs closed within 13-12, but following an OC timeout, Chavez and Demuth came up with a block on Southwestern's Lacy Mott and Mott then committed an attack error on the next point, giving OC the set and match win.

"It was a really cool opportunity to come in this year and just start up fresh with a new program," said Schiefelbein, one of only three players on OC's 21-woman roster with collegiate playing experience. "That match was just super high-energy and we just got going. It was really cool to lead the girls out there.

"I love that we get to start new (program) rituals and lead the way for the future."

Wheeler praised Southwestern coach Josh Collins and the Bulldogs for being willing to wear masks while playing during the COVID-19 pandemic, as while the LSC is requiring its teams to play in masks, the GAC is not. The GAC is not allowing fans at athletic events.

"If they hadn't of agreed to wear their masks today, we wouldn't have been able to play them," Wheeler said. "We are very appreciative of them doing that. I want to give them a lot of credit for doing that."

Mott had 18 kills and Galt added 14 for Southwestern, while Hoang had 54 assists and 20 digs.

It will be a busy week for the Eagles, who will open LSC play at home on Tuesday and Wednesday against Midwestern State (Texas), then will visit another GAC opponent, Oklahoma Baptist, on Friday.

Pre-match intros: https://youtu.be/sfT1p_Hcm74
First few points: https://youtu.be/8U0Z2-9EOhk
First set clinching point: https://youtu.be/WuUdOMHkXdw
Fourth set clinching point: https://youtu.be/xROB14Qmd9U
Match-clinching point: https://youtu.be/EOCMmBkBHZY
Barry Wheeler and Kelsie Schiefelbein discuss the match: https://youtu.be/MiAQ7SkRgPo