OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 12, 2021) – Heading into the final day of the volleyball regular season, Oklahoma Christian's hopes of making the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament remain alive, thanks to yet another comeback by the Eagles.

Twice down a set in a match they absolutely had to have, the Eagles rallied for a 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-16, 15-9) win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday night in the Eagles' Nest. It was OC's third straight win, matching the longest by the program since it was revived with the spring 2021 season.

OC (10-17, 6-10 LSC) will host Texas A&M International (4-19, 4-12) on Saturday at 1 p.m. and needs to win that match and have a couple of other results go their way to squeeze into the 12-team LSC tournament.

The Eagles are one of four teams competing for three available tournament spots, along with TAMUK (13-9, 7-9), St. Mary's (Texas) (13-10, 7-9) and Eastern New Mexico (6-18, 6-10). OC owns a tiebreaker only against TAMUK, having lost earlier to St. Mary's and ENMU.

The Eagles picked up standout performances from two players in particular against TAMUK. Setter Spencer Plato had 34 assists and 12 digs to go with a block assist, an ace and four kills while posting a .429 attack percentage. Outside hitter Hannah Rouse continued her recent stretch of fine play, recording a team-high 11 kills along with 15 digs, five block assists, three assists and two aces.

OC hit .176 for the match, a number that steadily rose in the final two sets as the Eagles mostly controlled the action. TAMUK hit .161, led by Ayanna Jackson and Jackie Alanis, who had 14 kills each. Alanis added 16 digs, while Nicole Murff led the Javelinas defensively with 23 digs. Star setter Emily Witt had 42 assists and 15 digs for TAMUK.

A 7-0 run by TAMUK gave the Javelinas a 10-3 lead in the first set. OC pulled within 19-18 but the Javelinas closed on a 6-2 run that included two kills by Alanis.

OC trailed 10-6 in the second set but tied the set with a 6-2 run. With the set tied 21-21, Murff committed a service error and Rouse followed with an ace to put OC up 23-21. A kill by Hamlin and another ace, by Berryman, gave the Eagles the set.

A 9-1 run in the middle of the third set effectively gave it to the Javelinas. TAMUK led 24-15, but OC fought off five set points before finally succumbing.

That run seemed to energize the Eagles, who never trailed in the fourth set and steadily pulled away. As she did in the second set, Berryman ended the set with an ace.

OC trailed only briefly in the fifth set, at 5-4 and 6-5, but then scored four straight points to seize control, with Yolaine Lopez contributing a kill and Morgan Demuth an ace. After the teams traded service errors – leaving OC ahead 10-7 – the Javelinas committed two attack errors and Kelsie Schiefelbein followed with a kill to make it 13-7.

A kill by Rouse made it 14-8 and a TAMUK attack error ended the match. It was the ninth five-set match of the season for OC. The Eagles are 4-5 in those matches.

OC will recognize its lone senior, Allyssa Hamlin, during a pregame ceremony Saturday, along with Lopez and Jovana Cernjanski, two graduate assistants who also completed their collegiate volleyball eligibility this season with the Eagles.