COMMERCE, Texas (Nov. 15, 2021) – The history of Oklahoma Christian's fledgling volleyball program is short, but there has been one consistent for the Eagles in the two seasons in which they've competed since the program returned – a postseason date against Texas A&M-Commerce.
The Eagles will visit The Field House at TAMUC on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a first-round Lone Star Conference tournament match. The winner between No. 12 seed OC (11-17) and No. 5 seed TAMUC (14-9) will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday, to be hosted by No. 1 seed Angelo State (Texas).
Back on March 23, in the first postseason match for OC's revived program, the young Eagles pushed TAMUC a bit, taking the second set before falling 25-22, 20-25, 25-11, 25-12 in a match played in Kingsville, Texas, during the LSC's spring 2021 tournament, which replaced the traditional fall event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lot has happened since then. Jason Skoch now is the Eagles' coach and while OC has had what can be described as a roller coaster of a season, the Eagles ended on a high. Needing to win their final four matches, they did, beating Midwestern State (Texas) and Cameron on the road before downing Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International at home.
The win over TAMUK proved fortuitous, as it was that team that ended up in a three-way tie with Eastern New Mexico and OC for 11th place in the LSC standings. ENMU had beaten both OC and TAMUK, giving the Greyhounds a spot, while OC's win over TAMUK put the Eagles into the final spot in the field.
Those four straight wins mean OC is the second-hottest team in the league entering the tournament, behind only Angelo State, which has won seven straight matches.
Tuesday's match will be the second this season for OC at TAMUC. The Lions won 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-8) back on Oct. 2, as the Eagles had a .000 hitting percentage compared to .252 for TAMUC. The Lions rank fourth in the LSC in that category at .224, while OC is 13th at .169.
OC ranks eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.179), with TAMUC 11th (.192).
TAMUC's Maddy Rashford is ninth in the LSC in kills at 3.27 per set, while Celeste Vela leads the league in assists with 10.40 per set. OC's Kelsie Schiefelbein ranks fifth in the LSC in blocks with 79 (0.96 per set) and Brylie Berryman is sixth in digs at 4.66 per set.
The Eagles' offensive attack relies on balance, with setters Spencer Plato and Kyla Chavez setting it up for Morgan Demuth, Yolaine Lopez, Allyssa Hamlin and Hannah Rouse, each of whom averages between 1.89 and 1.99 kills per set.
In other first-round matches Tuesday, No. 11 seed Eastern New Mexico will visit No. 6 seed Dallas Baptist (Texas), No. 10 seed St. Edward's (Texas) at No. 7 seed Arkansas-Fort Smith and No. 9 seed St. Mary (Texas) at No. 8 seed Texas-Permian Basin.
All 11 volleyball championship games will be broadcast exclusively on the LSC Digital Network at www.lonestarconferencenetwork.com or the LSC Digital Network Over-The-Top app. Fans will be able to purchase an LSC Volleyball Championship day pass for $10 that provides access to all volleyball tournament games for 24 hours from the time of purchase. Passes will be available for purchase on each game day.
In addition to claiming the tournament title, the winner will receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship.
