AUSTIN, Texas - Oklahoma Christian dropped a Lone Star Conference match to St. Edward's, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-20), Friday night at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
The Eagles fell to 14-10 overall and 7-5 in league play. The Hilltoppers improved to 13-9 and 8-4.
Chloe Jones paced OC with 9 kills and 13 digs. Susanna Hodson added 8 kills on a .318 clip in two sets of action, and Leah Duncan hit .417 with 7 kills. Summer Van Meerveld dished out 15 assists, and Macey Nehring anchored the back row with 13 digs. The Eagles also won the block battle, 6.0 to 4.0, with Alexis Moore credited with 2 solo stops and 2 assists.
St. Edward's led most of the first set, but OC ended it on a 3-0 run, with Duncan putting down three straight kills to pull within 24-19 before the Hilltoppers closed it out. The Eagles also trimmed a 17-12 deficit in the second set to 17-15 after a timeout. In the third, the match was tied at 13-13 before St. Edward's pulled away. Hodson had 6 kills in that set.
LSC Playoff Picture
Nine teams qualify for the Lone Star Conference Tournament, set for Nov. 11-14 and hosted by the No. 1 seed. The tournament champion earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship.
With the loss, OC (7-5 LSC) sits in a tie with West Texas A&M (7-5) for the final spots in the field, based on standings entering Saturday's matches. Angelo State (12-0), DBU (11-2), UT Tyler (9-3), Midwestern State (9-5), Texas A&M-Kingsville (8-4), St. Edward's (8-4) and UT Dallas (8-4) are ahead of the Eagles. Western New Mexico and Lubbock Christian are a game back at 7-6.
OC's remaining matches:
- Oct. 24 at St. Mary's (4-8)
- Oct. 30 vs. DBU (11-2)
- Oct. 31 vs. Texas Woman's (4-8)
- Nov. 6 at Eastern New Mexico (3-9)
- Nov. 7 at West Texas A&M (7-5)
The first tiebreaker for seeding and qualifying is head-to-head match record. OC swept both Lubbock Christian and Western New Mexico earlier this season, but has not yet played West Texas A&M, so the regular-season finale in Canyon could decide a spot in the field.
Up Next
The Eagles close the weekend Saturday at St. Mary's in San Antonio, with first serve set for 2 p.m. CT.
