Alva Review-Courier -

SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist maintains a share of first place in the Great American Conference standings following a dominating performance against East Central. The Lady Bison swept the visiting Tigers, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-22), on Tuesday night in the squad's penultimate match inside the Noble Complex this season.

Kynnedy Myers orchestrated OBU's dominance for much of the night, swinging .375 for a match-high nine kills while averaging 9.33 assists per set. The sophomore setter also accounted for five digs and two total blocks, filling up the box score nicely.

The Lady Bison stampeded out the gates, claiming a 10-2 lead thanks to three scores by Myers, as well as kills by Cadyn Laing and Shekinah Sharpe. Despite an 8-1 run midway through the first by East Central, OBU head coach Anna Howle showed great trust in her squad to play through the rough patch. Nicole Fleitman halted the Tigers' run with a blistering attack that sparked a 5-1 run for OBU that was highlighted by a combo block from Laing and Myers. Consecutive kills by Sophia Couto and Fleitman gave OBU a 25-19 win in the first set for a 1-0 lead in the match.

As fast as OBU started the first set, it was sluggish start for the Lady Bison in the second as ECU went up 6-2 early. A score by Taylor Williams sparked a 4-0 flurry to put OBU up 13-11, though the Lady Bison would eventually find themselves looking at the Tigers' tail again with the score 16-15. That was the last time OBU would trail, as they ripped off another four straight points, including blocks from Rachel Richieand Couto, to claim a 19-16 lead that they'd never relinquish. Oklahoma Baptist scored the final six points of the set as Fleitman and Couto combined for two blocks; Richie found a gaping hole in the Tigers' defense to claim the set, 25-17, and give the Lady Bison a 2-0 lead.

A tense affair at first, the third frame eventually tilted heavily in favor of OBU, up 20-13 following a pair of Richie scores. Soon after, Myers notched her ninth kill of the match to bring the contest to match point. However, ECU had other plans, and fought off six straight match points. Coach Howle went to her bench, inserting the veteran presence of Sharpe into the fray. The senior outside hitter repaid her coach's faith, hammering home the final point of the set for the three-set sweep.

"We passed better than we have in a while, and a lot of different girls came through for us on the defensive end," said Howle. "We made the adjustments we needed to make tonight in order to take care of ECU.

"Kynnedy made some great decisions tonight. I gave her a few little rules, and she really did a good job of following them. It was good to see Nicole excel tonight as well!"

Myers led the team with nine kills, while Fleitman had eight and Richie had seven as OBU held a plus-12 margin in kills for the night. Myers had a match-leading 28 assists.

Sierra VeraCruz led the entire floor with 18 digs, followed by Sharpe at 10 for the match. The Lady Bison held a 7-to-5 advantage in blocks on the night, paced by Sophia Couto who had four total blocks, including the match's only solo stop.

Oklahoma Baptist (15-11, 9-3 GAC) is back on the road, heading to Alva, Oklahoma, for a 2 p.m. match against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday, Oct. 29. The Lady Bison swept the Rangers in Shawnee to open conference play earlier this year.