Drovers Drop Senior Day Showdown Against OCU

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Saturday morning, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (10-18, 6-14 SAC) suffered a three-set loss on Senior Day against Oklahoma City University (13-12, 12-8 SAC). Despite suffering the loss, the Drovers still managed to clinch the final spot into the Sooner Athletic Tournament.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the Drovers were locked in a tie for eighth place with Central Christian College, but due to the Sooner Athletic Conference's tie-breaking procedures, USAO advances to the conference tournament. 

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 three seasons. 

On Saturday, the Drovers fell behind early on and the Stars claimed a 25-18 victory in the opening set. OCU continued their momentum in the final two sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-14.

At the conclusion of the match, the USAO offense produced 29 kills on a .110 attack percentage, while Oklahoma City had 40 kills on an incredible .407 attack percentage. The Drover defense contributed 31 digs and 3.0 total blocks, while the Stars had 41 digs and 5.0 blocks. USAO scored on two aces, while OCU scored on six aces. 

The USAO offense was led by Victoria Southerland and Samantha Perez with seven kills each. Southerland also added five digs and a pair of aces.

Giselle Calderon recorded five kills on a .333 attack percentage and Bruna Duarte concluded with four kills, three digs, and three block assists.

Madison Garcia distributed a team-high of 14 assists, followed by Kalaya Pierce with 12.

Yaiza Larrauri anchored the defense with nine digs and Soleil Trejo added five digs. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will return to the court for the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at No. 1 seed Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas. 

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