C of O Takes Volleyball Match Before Break

Coming off a 3-1 win over Stephens College on Monday, the College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats looked to continue their hot streak against Ozark Christian College. 

The full story below from College of the Ozarks Sports Information:

In their final home match before a month-long series of road trips, the Lady Cats jumped on the Ambassadors early in set one and never looked back. A pair of Grace Hancock kills were combined with a couple of Ambassador errors and the Lady Cats held an early 5-2 lead. With kills from Bri Linehan and Bailey Chamberlain, in her first game back from injury, the Lady Cats built a commanding lead. OCC battled back late in the set, but the Lady Cats held off the challenge and took set one, 25-18.

Set two began with an intense rally with Ozark Christian taking to point and the early 1-0 lead. The lead would be short lived as Paige Durham slammed home back-to-back kills to give C of O the lead. A Mica Chadwell service ace mixed in with a few Ambassador errors sent the Lady Cats on a 4-1 run. Christa Duffel and Bri Linehan combined for a block point and the Lady Cats began to pull away. Kills by Brooklyn Crawford, Grace Hancock, and Morgan Austin helped boost the Lady Cat lead to 13-5 and OCC took a timeout to regroup. The Lady Cats continued to apply pressure out of the huddle and clearly had the set in hand. A 6-1 run forced another Ambassador timeout and C of O was just a few points away from a 2-0 lead. With Mica Chadwell scampering from side to side for digs, and Paige Durham and Madelyn Sestak controlling the net, the Lady Cats took set two 25-9.

Set three started with kills by Madelyn Sestak and Morgan Wood combined with a service ace by Mica Chadwell. The Lady Cats quickly built an 8-3 lead and it appeared set three would be all C of O. A small Ambassador run was thwarted by a monster Paige Durham kill and the Lady Cat lead climbed to 11-6. The teams began trading points and Ozark Christian climbed back into contention. Kills by Paige Durham and Morgan Wood were mixed in with a Bailey Chamberlain ace and the Lady Cats maintained their lead, 16-13. Strong play at the net by the Lady Cats increased the gap and OCC was forced to take a timeout, trailing 20-13. An Emma McIntire kill greeted the Ambassadors out of the huddle and Paige Durham added to her kill total with another. A Madelyn Sestak kill, an OCC error, and a Morgan Wood kill finished off the set, 25-17 and the match, 3-0.

Paige Durham led the attack with eight kills followed by Grace Hancock with five. Morgan Austin set up 23 points while Mica Chadwell recorded a game high 27 digs.

The Lady cats will be off until October 11 when they travel to Joplin to face Ozark Christian College.