JOPLIN, Missouri – Myla Unterweger led a parade of career-best outings by Central Oklahoma Thursday night as the No. 25-ranked Bronchos toppled Arkansas-Fort Smith in the MIAA In-Season Tournament Thursday and Friday at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
UCO claimed its sixth straight win with a 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 victory, improving to 16-5 in the non-conference meeting. The Bronchos return Friday to take on host Missouri Southern at 6 p.m. in their final match of the weekend.
"That was a good win for us against a solid team," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "We played pretty well offensively, but I was disappointed with the way we finished the last two sets. We must do a better job closing out matches than we did tonight."
UCO got career-high performances from Unterweger (24 kills), Georgia Ahlert (14 kills), Riley Roberts (52 assists) and Morgan Manning (30 digs) in disposing of the Lions. Unterweger hit a sizzling .458, collecting her 24 kills in 48 attacks with just two errors.
The Bronchos also got seven kills apiece from Caroline Clayton and Sawyer Franz, while Kate Wells chipped in five kills and five total blocks. Kaitlyn Parrott was also key in the back row with 17 digs.
UCO took control early in the opening set, getting kills from Clayton and Ahlert along with a Lion error to break away from a 1-1 tie in taking a 4-1 lead. It was an 11-5 advantage after Ahlert and Fenton teamed up for a block and Unterweger knocked down five kills the rest of the way as the Bronchos coasted in.
UAFS had an 8-6 lead in the second set when Central reeled off eight unanswered points to move in front to stay. Ahlert had three straight kills and Clayton two during that surge to put the Bronchos on top 14-8.
The Lions got within 16-14, but Ahlert and Unterweger had two kills apiece while Wells added a pair of blocks as UCO finished off the 25-17 victory.
The Bronchos appeared on their way to finishing off a sweep after grabbing a 9-4 lead in the third set on an Unterweger kill and it was still a five-point cushion at 20-15 when Sawyer Franz knocked down a shot. But UAFS rallied, going on a 7-2 run to tie it at 22-all before staying alive with the 25-23 win.
It was almost the same scenario in the fourth set. UCO jumped out to a commanding 15-5 lead as Unterweger slapped down three kills while Ahlert added two kills and back-to-back aces, but the Lions came roaring back with a 12-3 run to get within 18-17.
UAFS tied it at 19 and again at 20 before the Bronchos finished off the match with a 5-0 run, starting with an Unterweger kill and finishing with a Franz smash.
The Bronchos return to Edmond next week for their final two home matches, hosting Fort Hays State Friday on Senior Night and No. 5-ranked Nebraska-Kearney Saturday.
