MONTICELLO — The University of Arkansas at Monticello volleyball team had significant leads in all four sets, but Oklahoma Baptist rallied in three of them to defeat the Blossoms on Saturday afternoon inside Steelman Field House by final game scores of 25-21, 20-25, 27-25 and 27-25.
The Blossoms (7-12, 1-8 Great American Conference) held their largest lead of the first set at 16-12 on a kill from sophomore Aubrey Harrison, but the Bison (13-10, 8-1 GAC) responded with a 5-0 scoring run that preceded a rally of back-and-forth points before OBU won six of the final eight rallies.
After taking a 3-2 lead early in the second frame, the Blossoms never trailed throughout the set to even the match. UAM's biggest run in the game was six straight points that featured three kills from junior Kedra Johnson to give UAM a 22-15 lead.
In the third set, the Blossoms looked to be in position to go up in the match with a kill from junior Carolina Gasparini to give UAM a 24-21 lead. However, OBU responded with four straight points and won six of the final seven rallies to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.
UAM played from behind throughout the fourth set, but came back to force another set point, this time on a kill by junior Kya Standford to give the Blossoms 24-23 lead. Again OBU rallied by winning four the final five serves to seal the match victory.
Gasparini led the Blossoms with 13 kills, followed by Harrison with 12, Standford with 11, senior Sydni Schulz with nine and Johnson with eight.
Senior Kaila Kikugawa paced the Blossoms on defense with a career-high 22 digs, her second match of the season with at least 20 and eighth straight in double-digits. Junior Dianna Etienne smashed her personal best in assists with 47 in Saturday's loss, while also posting 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Schulz and Gasparini also reached double-digits in digs with 11 each.
The Blossoms are on the road for their next five matches, starting this Tuesday, October 20 at Mississippi Valley State. First serve is 6 p.m.
