Oklahoma City University Athletics

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. – Oklahoma City completed its first Sooner Athletic Conference road swing on Saturday with a 3-1 win at College of the Ozarks.
 
The Stars won 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16 to move to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the SAC.
 
OCU lost the services of a starter in the third set but rallied to bring home the win.
 
"This might be one of my most proud wins that I've had as a coach," said OCU Head Coach Kristen Coventon. "We had a player go down with an ankle injury at the beginning of the third set and we played a really funky lineup and then came back in fourth set and just dominated. It was such a gritty win. I'm just so proud of this team and what they're doing right now. We have people stepping up all over the place. To do what we're doing with the injuries we have is just a testament of how hard they are working."
 
Grace Smallwood led the Stars with 11 kills and Bailey Lowder added 10.  Rylie Steward had 24 assists and had a top-five performance with nine aces.
 
Kacie Townsend had 19 digs and Kate Cleofe added 14. Amber Jones led the Stars with three blocks.
 
OCU jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and led by as many as seven points. OCU had a 6-0 run that included four consecutive Steward aces. The Bobcats got within 24-22 before Lowder ended the drama with a kill.
 
Down 10-8 in the second set, the Stars went on a 9-0 run that included two kills each by Maddie Edwards and Smallwood and two aces by Steward. Smallwood had a kill to end the set.
 
After a loss in set three, the Stars fell behind 11-7 in the fourth before Lowder had two kills in a 6-0 run to give OCU the lead for good.
 
OCU takes on Southwestern Christian at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the first SAC home match for the Stars.