Drovers Drop Pair on the Road in Kansas

STERLING, Kan. – Saturday afternoon, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (8-11, 5-7 SAC) traveled to Kansas for a double-header against Friends University and Sterling College. The Drovers opened the day with a four-set loss against Friends, followed by a five-set loss against Sterling.

vs FRIENDS UNIVERSITY (7-18, 0-6 SAC)

The Drovers got off to an impressive start and held an early 6-0 lead, but the Falcons immediately stormed back to tie the set. The rest of the set was very back and forth, but Friends was able to outlast USAO and claim a 26-24 victory in the opening set.

USAO responded well in the second set and cruised to a 25-18 victory, but Friends once again took the lead in the match with a 25-21 win in the third set. The Falcons fended off the Drovers' comeback attempt in the fourth set and closed the match with a 25-23 win.

At the conclusion of the match, USAO produced 61 total points scored, while Friends finished with 64. The Drover offense closed with 52 kills on a .210 attack percentage, while the Falcons produced 54 kills on a .259 attack percentage. The Drover defense contributed 57 digs and 4.0 total blocks, while the Falcons had 71 digs and 2.0 blocks. USAO scored on seven aces, while Friends scored on eight aces. 

Yeishka Reyes delivered a terrific performance off the bench, producing a team-high of 13 kills on an astounding .500 attack percentage. 

Victoria Southerland finished with 12 kills and six digs, while Gabrielle Gunnoe added 11 kills and a pair of block assists. Bruna Duarte closed with six kills and seven digs, followed by Samantha Perez with four kills.

Kalaya Pierce led the team with 25 assists, along with eight digs on defense. Madison Garcia dished out 19 assists and five digs.

Yaiza Larrauri concluded with a team-high of 17 digs and Andrea Maldonado added eight digs.

vs STERLING COLLEGE (13-7, 3-4 KCAC)

The Warriors got off to a great start in the opening set and went on to claim a 25-18 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match. USAO played much better in the second set and held on for a 25-21 victory to tie the match at 1-1. The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-21 victory of their own in the third set. Down but not out, the Drovers battled their way to a 25-18 victory to force a fifth set. The Drovers kept it close in the fifth set, but eventually suffered a 15-12 loss to end the match.

The Drovers have become accustomed to five-set matches, having gone to five sets in six of the team's last nine matches, and they own a record of 2-4 when matches have gone the distance this season.

At the conclusion of the match, USAO produced 74 total points scored, while Sterling finished with 78. The Drover offense closed with 65 kills on a .253 attack percentage, while the Warriors produced 66 kills on a .297 attack percentage. The Drover defense contributed 74 digs and 2.0 total blocks, while the Warriors had 78 digs and 7.0 blocks. USAO scored on seven aces, while SC produced five.

USAO had a high-powered offense in the match and four different players recorded 11 or more kills, led by Gabrielle Gunnoe's sensational 17-kill performance. Gunnoe finished with a stellar .316 attack percentage. 

Samantha Perez closed the match with 13 kills on a .435 attack percentage, followed by Victoria Southerland with 12 kills. Additionally, Southerland had 10 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season. Isaline Jacqucemyn contributed 11 kills on a .276 attack percentage.

Madison Garcia was the key distributer for USAO, dishing out 30 assists, in addition to four kills and nine digs. Kalaya Pierce closed with 19 assists, seven digs, and a pair of aces. 

Yaiza Larrauri led all players with 24 digs, in addition to four assists. Soleil Trejo added 11 digs on defense. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will be back in action at home on Friday, October 13 as they host No. 25 ranked SAGU. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM CT inside Drover Fieldhouse.

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