No. 18 UCO Hosts No. 13 Washburn Friday

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Central Oklahoma continues Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play this weekend when the No. 18-ranked Bronchos host a pair of matches at Hamilton Field House.

UCO, 16-3 on the season and 4-1 in the league, takes on unbeaten and No. 13-rated Washburn (17-0, 5-0) at 6 p.m. Friday before meeting Emporia State (7-10, 2-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Bronchos have won 12 straight home matches and are 75-16 at home under seventh-year head coach Edgar Miraku.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO had a 14-match winning streak – the sixth-longest in school history -- snapped last Friday with a tough five-set loss at No. 4-ranked Nebraska-Kearney. The Bronchos bounced back the next afternoon to rout Fort Hays State for their 14th sweep of the season.

Senior Taylor Bevis continues to lead the team in kills with 234 and is second in digs with 178. She ranks third in the MIAA in kills per set (3.71) and also has 36 total blocks.

Five other players have 100-plus kills in UCO's balanced attack – sophomore Haley Deschenes (131), senior Karyn Chrisman (125), sophomore Malia Kaaiohelo (111) and senior Jordan Spence (105).

Spence also tops the Bronchos in hitting percentage at .306 and total blocks with 55 (11 solo, 44 assisted). Kaaiohelo is second in blocks with 49 (eight solo, 41 assisted).

Junior Dominique Lipari is second in the MIAA with 5.35 digs per set, having racked up 348. She's had six matches with 20-plus digs, including three of 30-plus.

Senior McKenzie Fyfe and sophomore Ericka Scholl continue to share work at setter and average a combined 10.61 assists per set. Scholl has 345 assists (6.05/set), 124 digs and a team-high 25 service aces, while Fyfe has 283 assists (4.56/set) and 165 digs.

RECORD WATCH: Bevis jumped into fourth place on UCO's all-time kills list last week and now has 1,574 for her sensational career. She also is tied for fourth in career attacks with 4,252.

Spence is still seventh on the school career chart for solo blocks (61) and sixth for assisted blocks (336). She's 10 solo blocks and just two assisted blocks from moving up another spot in each category.

Fyfe ranks 10th in career assists with 1,478.

Lipari is closing in on the top 10 in career digs. She now has 1,372, needing 44 more to reach 10th place on the all-time list.

ABOUT WU: The Ichabods are one of just three undefeated teams left in NCAA Division II at 17-0. Washburn, which has 10 sweeps on the season, leads the MIAA in kills (14.36/set) and assists (13.47/set) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.254), opponent hitting percentage (.118) and blocks (2.13/set).

Makayla Maxwell leads the team with 105 kills, a .355 hitting percentage and 48 blocks. Erica Montgomery has a team-high 166 kills and Allison Maxwell 163.

The Ichabods have a 10-8 lead in the series with UCO, though the Bronchos swept both home-and-home matches last year.

ABOUT ESU: The Hornets are 7-10 overall and 2-3 in the league heading into Friday night's match at Pittsburg State prior to coming to Central.

Tatum Graves is hitting .332 and ranks among the league leaders in kills (198) and blocks (67) to lead ESU. Allie Maloney has 301 digs (4.56/set).

The Bronchos have won the last 12 meetings between the teams to take a 15-11 lead in the series.

UP NEXT: The Bronchos go on the road for two conference matches next week, playing at Northwest Missouri Friday and Missouri Western Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

#16 Taylor Bevis: OH; 5' 10"; Senior

#3 Karyn Chrisman: RS/OH; 6' 0"; Senior

#13 Haley Deschenes: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#11 McKenzie Fyfe: S/DS; 5' 6"; Senior

#7 Malia Kaaiohelo: MB; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#1 Dominique Lipari: DS/L; 5' 1"; Junior

#4 Ericka Scholl: S; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#8 Jordan Spence: MB; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#16 Taylor Bevis
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH

#3 Karyn Chrisman
: 6' 0"; Senior
: RS/OH

#13 Haley Deschenes
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH/RS

#11 McKenzie Fyfe
: 5' 6"; Senior
: S/DS

#7 Malia Kaaiohelo
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: MB

#1 Dominique Lipari
: 5' 1"; Junior
: DS/L

#4 Ericka Scholl
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: S

#8 Jordan Spence
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MB