From OCU Sports
Rich Tortorelli, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Oklahoma City University dropped its last pool-play match 16-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-20 to Midland (Neb.) on Thursday at the Tyson Events Center in the NAIA volleyball championships.
The 12th-ranked Stars took second in its pool to fifth-ranked Midland. Oklahoma City (32-4) will play sixth-ranked Eastern Oregon at 3:45 p.m. Friday in bracket play.
Midland (29-3) dealt OCU its first loss since Sept. 9 to Park (Mo.) in the Baker Invitational at Baldwin City, Kan. The Stars had won 24 consecutive matches. OCU’s previous best win streak had been 10 in a row in 2008.
Fia Faa’agi, a sophomore from Murrieta, Calif., topped the Stars with 13 kills, while Holly Randall, a junior from Edmond, Okla., produced 12 kills and two blocks.
Sanja Vojnovic, a junior from Bajeljena, Bosnia, rang up 45 assists, seven digs and two aces, and Dani Chase, a junior from Yukon, Okla., scooped up 22 digs for OCU. Vojnovic reached 40 assists for the 16th time this year, while Chase had 20 digs for the fifth time in 2016.
The Stars’ Shekinah Clarke, a sophomore from Waianae, Hawaii, recorded 10 kills and 14 digs, while Manon Soraru, a junior from Mulhouse, France, posted 10 kills, five digs and five blocks.
OCU reeled off a 10-1 splurge on the way to picking up the first set. Faa’agi and Marijana Bjelobrk smacked back-to-back kills to put the Stars on top 12-4.
In the third set, OCU rallied from a 19-16 deficit to take a 20-19 edge. Randall hammered consecutive kills to put the Stars in front.