Tweet #theGAC  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist (20-8) dialed up one of its most impressive performances of the season, and in Great American Conference Tournament play ever, on Thursday during a 3-0 win against Ouachita in the quarterfinal round.

Three different players hit at least .500 - Lauren Safrit, .500; Jill Leslie, .500  and Avery Hellmuth, .538. The team's nine attack errors represented the third-fewest in a match this fall. The Bison set a program for attack percentage at a GAC Championship match by hitting .369. Abrey Galt had 23 assists while Emily Boyer added 16.

The Bison's defense, one that allowed 65 kills to Ouachita in an October 19 loss, held the Tigers to their second-lowest total (33) of the season. Hellmuth had four block assists while Maci Langford and Safrit each tallied double-digit digs.

In the first set, Ouachita started well, attaining a 7-4 lead after a Kayla Steinmeyer kill. The Bison overcame the slow start though with a 4-0 run. Jenna West and Jh'Kyah Head tallied a couple of points as the Bison took their first lead, 8-7. Later, and nursing a 12-11 advantage, the Bison reeled off a 4-1 stretch to reach a 16-12 lead. Leslie had two kills and an ace in that sequence. OBU stayed in front and won 25-18. They hit .459 in the opening set.

The Bison only trailed once - 1-0 - and controlled the second stanza. Three straight kills from West and Safrit boosted the team's lead to 13-6 and later, a block by Hellmuth and West extended the advantage to 21-13. Another 25-18 win followed for the Bison.

Oklahoma Baptist cruised in the third, hitting .313 while holding Ouachita to a -.059 attack mark. In a blink of an eye, the Bison led 8-2 after a block by Hellmuth and D'Erricka Frierson. That advantage ballooned to nine, 14-5, after Boyer served up a kill for Safrit. A block by Head gave the Bison their first double-digit lead, 16-6. To cap things off, Hellmuth and Head tallied another block.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. the second-seed Bison will face rival and third-seed Southwestern Oklahoma State in the semifinals. Friday's match with SWOSU will be the third this year and first-ever in the conference tourney. During the regular season, the Bison won a pair of five-setters over the Bulldogs.