Drovers Go Down in Three Sets Against WBU

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Saturday afternoon, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (10-16, 6-12 SAC) suffered a three-set loss against Wayland Baptist University (12-11, 10-7 SAC). 

With two matches remaining on the schedule for the regular season, the Drovers sit in eighth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams in the conference will compete in the SAC Tournament, with a bid to the NAIA National Championship tournament on the line. USAO has qualified for the SAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed in each of the last two seasons. 

Both teams got off to a sloppy start in the opening set, but WBU managed to pull away for the 25-21 victory. The Pioneers would then catch fire and went on to win the final two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-18, respectively.

At the conclusion of the match, the USAO offense produced 23 kills on a -.037 attack percentage, while Wayland Baptist had 41 kills on a .231 attack percentage. The Drover defense contributed 41 digs and 3.0 total blocks, while the Pioneers had 49 digs and 7.0 blocks. USAO scored on two aces, while WBU scored on one ace. 

Gabrielle Gunnoe and Victoria Southerland led the USAO offense with seven kills each. Kalaya Pierce concluded with a team-high of 12 assists, along with three digs, while Madison Garcia contributed seven assists and 10 digs. Yaiza Larrauri finished with 10 digs on defense, followed by Andrea Maldonado with eight.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will return to Bisco McPherson Court on Saturday, October 28 as they host Wayland Baptist University. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 PM CT inside Drover Fieldhouse.

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