Oklahoma City – The 2025 Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament opened first-round play with the top two seeds winning in straight sets, while the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds pulled off upsets on the road to advance to the conference semifinals after action on Tuesday evening.
No.1 Nelson 3, No. 8 Science & Arts 0
Nelson hit for a .422 hitting percentage while leading in most statistical categories en route to a 3-0 sweep of Science & Arts on Tuesday evening at the Sheaffer Center in Waxahachie, Texas, to advance to the conference semifinals.
The Lions got out to an early one-set advantage after hitting for a .583 hitting percentage with 15 kills on 24 total attacks to win the first set 25-13. The Drovers kept the second set close, but the Lions finished the set on a 5-3 run to garner the set 25-22. Nelson fell behind in the final set but rallied with a 6-2 run to take a 16-12 advantage midway through set three as they finished the match with a 9-6 rally to win the match 25-18.
The Lions held a 48-42 lead in kills while holding the Drovers to a .241 hitting percentage in the match. Addison Standley paced the Nelson attack with 13 kills, while Cassidy Hargesheimer handed out 24 assists, with Maci Sons having 15 digs as the Lions improved to 23-9 on the year. Jaliyah Cox led the way for the Drovers with 13 kills, and Ytzel Garcia had 37 assists as Science & Arts ended the year with an overall record of 17-15.
No. 2 Texas Wesleyan 3, No. 7 College of the Ozarks 0
Texas Wesleyan had an outstanding offensive night as the Rams hit for .484 percent in a 3-0 sweep of the College of the Ozarks at the Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday evening.
The Rams took the first set 25-17 as they had 15 kills on 36 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .278 while limiting the Bobcats to six kills in the set. The second set saw the Rams go on a 7-1 run midway through the set after the match was tied at 10-10 to grab a 17-11 advantage as Texas Wesleyan took the set 25-14. The Rams took control of the final set early as they had 16 kills on 31 total attacks for a .484 hitting percentage to secure the match with a 25-15 score in the final set to move on to the semifinals.
Texas Wesleyan held a 49-28 edge in kills while holding the Bobcats to a .074 hitting percentage in the match. Lyric Biggiers paced the Rams offense with 16 kills, while Ruby Rumohr handed out 26 assists, with Emily Lewis having 15 digs as the Rams improved to 23-6. Christa Duffel and Cora Roweton led the way for College of the Ozarks with eight kills each, while Kamryn Link had 16 helpers as the Bobcats ended the season with an overall record of 17-11.
No. 6 Oklahoma City 3, No. 3 Mid-America Christian 2
In an instant classic, Oklahoma City battled back from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set and then rallied to win the final two points of the fifth set to upset Mid-America Christian 3-2 at the Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City on Tuesday evening.
In an evenly played match, the Evangels won the first set 25-16 while the Stars evened things with a 25-23 win in set two. Mid-America Christian then took the third set 25-23 before Oklahoma City rallied to claim the fourth set 25-18 to force a race to 15 in the final set.
The final set went back and forth as there were six ties in the set, with the final tie coming at 14-14 before Erin Mack and Kaylie Marshall each had kills for the final two points to send Oklahoma City to the semifinals.
The Evangels held a 60-54 edge in kills while the Stars finished the evening with a .191 to .190 advantage in hitting percentage. Grace Smallwood paced the Oklahoma City attack with 17 kills, while Natalie Adams dished out 44 assists, with Smallwood adding 24 digs as the Stars improved to 17-12 on the year. Alica Obusekova led the MACU offense with 15 kills while Casady McKinney had 28 assists as the Evangels completed their season with an overall record of 18-12.
No. 5 Panhandle State 3, No. 4 Wayland Baptist 1
In a match that saw 25 ties and 12 lead changes, Panhandle State went on the road and upset Wayland Baptist 3-1 at the Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas, to advance to the conference semifinals for the first time in program history.
The Aggies had a .262 hitting percentage in the opening set to claim the first set 25-21, while the Pioneers had a .500 hitting mark to take the second set 25-16. Panhandle State was then able to take advantage of 13 hitting errors by Wayland Baptist over the final two sets to close out the match with identical 25-23 scores.
The Aggies finished the match with 51 kills on 181 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .182 in the match, with Elena Kagiali leading the way with 15 kills, while Mia Sanchez dished out 40 assists, with Winiffer Rodriguez having 32 digs as the Aggies improved to 15-14 on the year. Fade Ogunbade led the Pioneers’ offense with 14 kills, while Martyna Lewinska added 44 assists as Wayland Baptist fell to 15-11 on the season.
The tournament semifinals will take place at the Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday evening, with Nelson taking on Panhandle State in the opening match at 4 p.m. The Lions swept the season series with the Aggies by scores of 3-0. The second semifinal will begin 45 minutes following the completion of the first contest. The host Rams will take on Oklahoma City. Texas Wesleyan won both regular-season matches by scores of 3-1 and 3-0.