UCO 13-0 after win over Southern Nazarene

9/17/2016 8:50:00 PM | By: Chris Brannick

Allison Barr and Central Oklahoma are 13-0 after two wins on Saturday. [UCO Photo Services]

EDMOND - The University of Central Oklahoma beat Southern Nazarene 3-0 on Saturday in the UCO Crossover Tournament at Hamilton Field House.

The Bronchos, ranked seventh in the country in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, improved to 13-0 on the season and continued its impressive run of 30-straight sets won. UCO grabbed wins of 25-13, 25-8 and 25-17.

Edgar Miraku's team beat Southwestern, Northwestern and East Central in the tournament that matched up the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and the Great American Conference, but may have saved its best performance for last, in Saturday's match against SNU.

"We played good all weekend," Miraku said. "There is still room for improvement. But I'm glad we could finish the busy weekend the way we did."

Southern Nazarene started the match out in good shape, gaining a couple of points right out of the gate. But the Bronchos settled in just as quick and once UCO took the lead, they never looked back.

UCO only committed two errors in the first set. Fulani Petties, Taylor Bevis and Allison Barr each had three kills in the set. The Bronchos then ratcheted up the tempo in the second set.

UCO hit almost .600 percent in the second set. It was .545 to be exact after 22 total attacks, 13 kills and just one error. Bevis had five kills in the second set, Barr and Petties added two apiece and Ijeoma Njenje had two more.

The Bronchos were tested for parts of the third set, but ultimately prevailed to remain unbeaten. Njenje was perfect in the final frame, killing all five attacks she attempted. The sophomore spiked home her eighth kill of the night to seal the win and spark the celebration.

Petties finished with seven kills, Barr had five. Katy Davis finished with 30 assists on the night. Bonnie Vernon and Dominique Lipari were solid on defense, getting 12 and 11 digs respectively.

So that concludes the non-conference portion of the schedule for the Bronchos. UCO now turns to the rugged MIAA, where it is one of four nationally ranked teams.

One of those teams, No. 11 Central Missouri, awaits UCO next Friday in Warrensburg, Mo. The Bronchos will play at Lindenwood next Saturday before returning home to face Missouri Western on Friday, Sept. 30.

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