Portales, N.M. - Oklahoma Christian moved within one win of a spot in the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship on Friday night, beating Eastern New Mexico 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22) at the Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena in Portales, N.M.
The Eagles improved to 16-12 overall and 9-7 in LSC play, tied with Western New Mexico for eighth place going into the final day of the regular season.
Chloe Jones led OC with a double-double of 15 kills and 16 digs, plus two service aces. Jenna McClure added a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 15 digs. Kenzy McArtor and Leah Duncan had 10 kills each, with Duncan hitting .471 and adding three block assists. McArtor had four block assists.
Summer Van Meerveld ran the offense with 28 assists, and Payton Cash added 18. Macey Nehring led the back row with 18 digs and also had two of OC's six aces.
The Eagles won a tight first set. ENMU tied it at 21, and OC closed on a 4-1 run, with a McArtor kill, two points on McClure's serve and a Jones kill to finish it 25-22.
OC took control in the second set. With the Eagles up 15-12, Jones went to the service line and served six straight points, including an ace, for a 21-12 lead. OC hit .342 in the set and won it 25-17.
ENMU took the third set, 25-20. The fourth was tied at 22 before the Eagles scored the last three points. McArtor put down a kill, Cash served ENMU into an attack error, and Cash ended the match with an ace.
Aaliyah Butler led the Greyhounds with 15 kills, Natalie Ceniceros hit .462 with five block assists, and Jordan Garcia had 24 digs.
Playoff Picture
The top nine teams in the LSC standings make the tournament, which runs Nov. 11–14 and is hosted by the No. 1 seed. OC clinches a spot in either of these cases:
- OC beats No. 19 West Texas A&M on Saturday, or
- Western New Mexico loses to St. Edward's on Saturday.
If OC loses and WNMU wins, OC and WT would both finish 9-8 for the last spot, and WT holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Friday's results narrowed the field to three teams for the final two spots: OC, WNMU and WT. Lubbock Christian finished 8-9 after losing to Midwestern State, Texas Woman's lost to UT Tyler, and St. Mary's can win no more than seven conference matches.
Up Next
Oklahoma Christian closes the regular season at No. 19 West Texas A&M on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT in Canyon, Texas.
