Tweet #theGAC  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist secured a three-set victory against Southwestern Oklahoma State in the semifinal of the 2023 Great American Conference Volleyball Championships by surging late in all three sets to eliminate the third-seeded Bulldogs.

D'Erricka Frierson claimed 12 kills, a team-high, followed by Avery Hellmuth who secured 10. Those two played major roles in the first and third sets, respectively. Hellmuth led the team with a .556 attack percentage. Abrey Galt totaled 24 assists and Jh'Kyah Head ended up with seven kills and a .462 attack mark. Maci Langford, Lauren Safrit and Jenna West each recorded at least 10 digs.

In the first set, the Bison took an early lead, 14-7, before the Bulldogs caught up and kept the fight close for the second half of the set. After SWOSU tied it at 20, the Bison took the next five points. Safrit scored two straight on a kill and ace before two SWOSU errors. West then clinched the set with a kill.

The second stanza began in SWOSU's favor, but OBU kept close. The set remained tense throughout its entirety as it featured 16 ties. The Bulldogs reached set point five times, but the Bison never stopped attacking. With the score knotted up at 28, West delivered an ace before Jill Leslie ored the final point.

Southwestern started the third set by winning six of the first seven points. The Bison scored the next five points to get back into the set. From that moment on, both teams exchanged small leads of one or two points. OBU finisheed the set and match with a 6-1 run of its own. Trailing 20-19, Leslie's ninth kill tied the set. SWOSU then committed four errors over the next five sequences, The freshman Safrit sealed the win with her sixth kill of the contest.

On Saturday, the Bison (21-8) will compete for their third title in the last five seasons against fourth-seed Henderson State at 3 p.m. In the regular season, OBU defeated Henderson State, 3-0, on October 20.