TOPEKA, Kan. – Oklahoma Christian volleyball closed out the Washburn Invitational with a 3-1 victory over Arkansas Tech on Saturday morning at the Washburn Invitational. The Eagles won by set scores of 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-19 to improve to 3-1 on the season.
Oklahoma Christian opened the match with its best offensive set of the morning, recording 20 kills in the first set. The Eagles used the strong offensive start to take the opener, 25-21.
Arkansas Tech responded in the second set, edging OC, 25-23, to even the match at one set apiece. The Eagles were held to a .061 hitting percentage in the frame with 10 kills
OC bounced back in a big way in the third set. The Eagles committed just three attacking errors while hitting .357, their best percentage of the match, on the way to a 25-19 victory. Oklahoma Christian carried the momentum into the fourth, hitting .270 with 14 kills to close out the match with another 25-19 win.
Kenzy McArtor led the Oklahoma Christian offense with a match-high 17 kills while hitting .500. McArtor committed just three errors on 28 attempts and also added six block assists to finish with a match-high 20 points. Jenna McClure followed with 14 kills, eight digs and a service ace, while Molly Brunell added 12 kills and hit .370
Summer Van Meerveld and Emma Eyster directed the OC offense with 23 assists apiece. Van Meerveld also recorded three service aces and nine digs, while Eyster added six digs and an ace. Macey Nehring finished with 11 digs, and Chloe Jones added 10.
At the net, Oklahoma Christian held a significant advantage, totaling 20 block assists. Lauren Cary led the Eagles with eight block assists, while McArtor added six.
The Eagles travel to St. Joseph, Missouri, next week to compete in the Griffon Volleyball Classic, where three of their four matches will come against ranked or receiving-votes opponents. Oklahoma Christian opens the weekend on Friday, September 4th, with two matches, facing (RV) Northern State at 9 a.m. before taking on host No. 16 Missouri Western State. The Eagles close out the weekend with two matches on Saturday, September 5th, beginning with No. 14 Southwest Minnesota State at 11:30 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament against Northwest Missouri State at 4 p.m.
