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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Haley Deschenes
Haley Deschenes
3
Winner Nebraska-Kearney UNK 27-2, 13-2 MIAA
0
Central Oklahoma UCO 24-5, 12-3 MIAA
Winner
Nebraska-Kearney UNK
27-2, 13-2 MIAA
3
Final
0
Central Oklahoma UCO
24-5, 12-3 MIAA
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Nebraska-Kearney UNK 29 26 25 (3)
Central Oklahoma UCO 27 24 23 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Bronchos Fall To Nebraska-Kearney

EDMOND (Oct. 26) – All three sets could have gone either way, but in the end they all went against Central Oklahoma as the No. 14-ranked Bronchos fell to No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney Friday night in a key Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association showdown.

The Lopers prevailed 29-27, 26-24, 25-23 in an intense battle between two of the top teams in NCAA Division II, scoring the final two points to pull out the first two sets before holding off a furious UCO comeback try in the third.

Central dropped to 24-5 overall and 12-3 in the league with the loss, while UNK improved to 27-2 and 13-2.  The Bronchos wrap up their regular season home schedule Saturday with a 4 p.m. contest against Fort Hays State on Senior Day.

"It was a tough match between two really good teams," head coach Edgar Miraku said.  "Kearney made a few more plays than us in some late-game situations and that cost us.  It's disappointing, but we just have to put it behind us and move on."

UCO committed 22 attack errors in hitting just .142 in the match, though the Bronchos came up with 10 team blocks in limiting UNK to .191 hitting.

Haley Deschenes led UCO with 13 kills, while Karyn Chrisman and Jordan Spence added 10 apiece.  Malia Kaaiohelo had one solo block and five assisted ones, with Spence adding two solos and two assists.

Dominique Lipari dug up 35 attacks – tied for the second-most in her career – and McKenzie Fyfe handed out 26 assists.  Taylor Bevis, who leads the Bronchos with 3.72 kills per set, was limited to seven kills.

There were nine ties and four lead changes in the opening set, which saw UCO break away from an early 3-3 tie in the first set to take an 11-6 lead on a Deschenes kill.  It was still a five-point advantage at 16-11 when Chrisman knocked down a kill, but the Lopers responded with eight unanswered points to go ahead 19-16.

UNK was ahead 22-19 when the Bronchos got a Bevis ace and block from Kaaiohelo and Amanda Desch in coming back to tie it at 22.  A Spence block tied it again at 24 and UCO had chances was serving for the win after going ahead 25-24 and 26-25 only to see the Lopers tie it both times.

It was tied for the last time at 27 after a Bevis kill, but UNK scored the final two points on a kill and an ace to claim the hard-fought set.

Central came out flat in the second set, fell behind early and trailed by as many as five (14-9) before rallying.  The Bronchos scored four straight to get within a point at 14-13 on a block by Kaaiohelo and Desch, but never pulled even until Deschenes' kill down the line tied it at 24-all.

Again, the Lopers finished.  This time UNK knocked down back-to-back kills to finish off the 26-24 win and put the Bronchos in a big hole.

Spence had three early kills as UCO grabbed a 9-5 lead in the third, but the Lopers surged in front and eventually went ahead 24-17 only to see the Bronchos nearly pull off a miracle comeback.

Kaaiohelo teamed with Chrisman for one block and Deschenes for another while Chrisman and Deschenes also had a kill apiece in a 6-0 run that made it 24-23, but UNK finally stopped the drama with a match-ending kill.


 
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