OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 27, 2021) – There is no sugarcoating it – what happened Wednesday night in the Eagles' Nest will sting for a while for Oklahoma Christian's fledgling volleyball team.
After losing the first two sets, Midwestern State (Texas) rallied to win the last three, taking the decisive fifth set 16-14 by closing the match with six straight points, wiping out four match points held by the Eagles. The Mustangs, by winning 3-2 (15-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 16-14), swept the two-match set from OC, which were the Eagles' first matches at home since fall 1983.
Midwestern State (2-0, 2-0 Lone Star Conference) also took an early lead in the four-team LSC pod they share with OC (1-2, 0-2). The other two teams in the pod, Cameron and Arkansas-Fort Smith, had their two head-to-head matches this week postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
OC's young squad did enough to win, actually outscoring Midwestern State over the entirety of the match. Three Eagles reached double digits in kills, as
Caitlynne Hudgens had 14 (to go with a team-high 14 digs),
Talby Duerksen had 12 (along with six block assists) and
Morgan Demuth had 10 (to go with six block assists).
Other statistical standouts included
Jessica Souza, who had 22 assists;
Spencer Plato, who had 21 assists and 10 digs and
Alexandra Aponte Torres, who had 10 digs.
Midwestern State countered with 21 kills from Raven Presley, 13 from Alyssa Estrada-Hamby and 11 from Lissette Lefforge, while Jaycie Fuller had 16 digs.
OC cruised in the opening set before a dramatic rally gave the Eagles the second set. Midwestern State led 18-10 and seemed to be on the verge of evening the match before the Eagles outscored them 15-4 the rest of the way, closing the set with five straight points.
The Mustangs outscored OC 7-2 down the stretch to take the third set. OC missed a chance to end the match in the fourth set, surrendering three straight points after tying the set at 21-21.
OC led most of the fifth set and had quadruple match point at 14-10, after a kill by Hudgens, before Midwestern State's final rally.
The Eagles are scheduled to play a nonconference match on Friday at Oklahoma Baptist before hosting another LSC rival, Cameron, next Tuesday and Wednesday.
