Bronchos Top SNU In Five-Set Thriller

EDMOND (Feb. 19) – Courtney Lane knocked down three of her match-high 18 kills in the deciding set to propel Central Oklahoma to a thrilling five-set victory over Southern Nazarene Friday night at Hamilton Field House.

The Bronchos prevailed 23-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-14, 17-15 in a two and one-half hour battle that marked the start of UCO's 17-match spring exhibition schedule. Central returns to action Sunday, hosting Oklahoma Christian at 7 p.m.

"That was a good, hard-fought match that could have gone either way," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "It was great to be back on the court and I was proud of the way we competed. We got a lot of players in the match and came up with some big plays when we needed them."

The Bronchos dominated the second and fourth sets while the Crimson Storm pulled out tight wins in the first and third sets to set up the winner-take-all fifth set. There were nine ties and six lead changes in the faithful fifth before UCO finally came out on top.

Lauren Jenkins opened the set with consecutive service aces and the Bronchos took a 6-3 lead on a Lane ace only to see SNU answer with a 7-2 run to grab a 10-8 advantage. It was back-and-forth the rest of the way.

Lane's cross-court kill put Central on top 14-13, but the Crimson Storm scored the next two points to move in front 15-14. Lane drilled a shot down the middle to tie it, an SNU attack error put the Bronchos ahead and Mallory Hendrix's lone kill of the match ended the suspense.

Lane added eight digs and two solo blocks to her 18 kills, while Jenkins finished with 11 kills and seven digs. Amanda Desch had a spectacular all-around outing with seven kills, 36 assists, 22 digs and two assisted blocks.

The Bronchos also got eight kills and five assisted blocks from Daria De Carvalho Peixe and Jaedynn Evans contributed 30 digs.

The Crimson Storm ended the first set with a 6-1 run to rally for a 25-23 win, then Lane knocked down seven kills in 12 attacks in UCO's second-set rout. SNU came from behind to take a close third-set win, but the Bronchos jumped ahead 4-0 and cruised in the fourth set to up the exciting finish.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Amanda Desch: S/OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#10 Lauren Jenkins: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Junior

#11 Courtney Lane: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#6 Jaedynn Evans: DS/OH; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#9 Mallory Hendrix: S; 5' 10"; Freshman

#14 Daria De Carvalho Peixe: MB; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#15 Amanda Desch
: 5' 10"; Junior
: S/OH

#10 Lauren Jenkins
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OH/RS

#11 Courtney Lane
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH/RS

#6 Jaedynn Evans
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: DS/OH

#9 Mallory Hendrix
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: S

#14 Daria De Carvalho Peixe
: 6' 3"; Junior
: MB