Oklahoma City University Athletics

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City moved to 4-0 on the season with a pair of wins in the Stars Invitational on Saturday.
 
It is OCU volleyball's first 4-0 start since the 2020-21 COVID season.
 
OCU swept LSU-Shreveport, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, before rallying for a 3-2 win over Texas A&M-Texarkana, 18-25, 29-27, 22-25, 25-16, 15-12.
 
Against LSUS, Kacie Townsend led with a dozen kills with Natalie Adams providing 26 assists. Ryan Leland had three aces.
 
Maddie Edwards and Townsend had three blocks each/ Grace Smallwood led the Stars with 13 digs, followed by Kate Cleofe with 12 and Leland with 10.
 
OCU scored the first five points of the first set and never trailed but the Pilots tied the score at 19-19. Erin Mack got the set-winning kill.
 
The Stars used a late 4-0 run to break up a one-point set in the second set and went on to victory.
 
Down 20-19 in the final set, OCU got another 4-0 run, including kills by Mack and Townsend. Adams finished the match with a kill.
 
After going down 1-0 and then 2-1 in sets in the final match, OCU used a 6-1 run punctuated by an Edwards kill to build a 9-5 lead. The Eagles got no closer than three points from there and Smallwood ended the set with a kill.
 
Amber Jones, Rylie Steward and Smallwood all had kills in a key 6-0 run to give the Stars a 13-6 lead in the final set. Smallwood had two more kills in a match-sealing 2-1 run for the victory.
 
Against TAMU-T, Smallwood had 18 kills, followed by Kacie Townsend with 14, Jones with 13 and Erin Mack with 12. Steward had 37 assists and Adams added 14. Townsend had three aces.
 
Leading the defense was Smallwood with 23 digs and Cleofe with 18. Leland had 14, Townsend added 13 and Steward 10.
 
The Stars head to Kansas Wesleyan to play Ottawa and Kansas Wesleyan at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.