SHAWNEE—Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) makes its first appearance at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I Volleyball National Championship with an at-large berth.
OBU is seeded fourth in the eight-team field, heading to the tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., with a 23-12 record.
The Lady Bison open pool play against No. 5 and host Warner at 1 p.m. (Central) Thurs., Dec. 3, and continue that day against No. 8 Lincoln Christian at 5 p.m. OBU wraps up pool play against No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan Fri. at 9 a.m.
Semifinals are set for 4 or 6 p.m. Central on Friday, with the championship match scheduled for 11 a.m., Sat.
Indiana Wesleyan is the favorite with a 32-8 record. The Wildcats were ranked 22nd in the NAIA, but missed the national tournament with a 3-1 loss to 34-1 Mt. Vernon Nazarene. IWU is lead by 5-10 sophomore Morgan Miller, who averages 2.7 kills, and 5-11 junior Remy Bucknor, who averages 2.25 kills and leads the team with 121 blocks.
OBU is led in kills by 5-9 senior Priscila Mendes at 2.55 kills per set. Nicole Fleitman, a 6-1 freshman, leads the team with 119 blocks and senior Kaitlyn Lucy comes in with 852 digs—just 36 short of Cami Weimer’s school record.
Lucy was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Great American Conference (GAC) and earned First-Team All-GAC honors.
OBU was runner-up in the NCCAA Central Region to Colorado Christian. Lucy was named Central Region Player of the Year. Freshman Kynnedy Myers and Cat Roth, a senior, were named First Team All-Region, and Carey Strong, a senior, received Second Team honors.
All OBU games audio will be carried live at www.obubisonlive.com.
