UCO-NMHU Box Score
UCO-SEU Box Score
CANYON, Texas (Sept. 4) -- Central Oklahoma rallied for a five-set win over St. Edward's to complete a two-match sweep on the final day of the West Texas A&M Classic here Saturday.
The Bronchos rolled over New Mexico Highlands 25-14, 27-25, 25-11 in a late-morning match before coming back to subdue the Hilltoppers, 27-25, 12-25, 12-25, 25-21 Saturday night, 15-12. UCO finished 3-1 in the two-day event, the only setback a five-set loss to Western State in Friday's opener.
"We pulled out a tough win tonight against a really good St. Edward's team," UCO coach Jeff Boyland said. "They just took it to us in the second and third sets, but we did a great job of staying focused on what we needed to do and came back strong.
"It was a good opening weekend for us and we made a lot of positive strides."
Defense paved the way in the comeback win over SEU as five players had double digit digs in the contest. Libero Ginger Gowen led the way with 26 digs, while Fleming Smurthwaite (22 digs) Kristen Wilson (18), Morgan Roy (14) and Tate Hardaker (13) all had at least 13.
Zuela Adom, who was named to the all-tournament team, had a team-high 14 kills along with five blocked shots for the Bronchos, while Wilson added 10 kills and Alex Richardson eight.
UCO used a late surge to pull out the first-set win, but the Hilltoppers dominated the next two sets to seemingly take control of the match before the Bronchos rallied.
The fourth set was tied 20-all when UCO got back-to-back kills from Wilson and Courtney Whitlow to ignite a 4-0 run that enabled the Bronchos to tie the match and force a fifth set.
UCO jumped on top quickly in the final set, getting an ace from Wilson and kills by four different players in taking an 8-1 lead. SEU got close at 10-8 and 14-12, but Wilson finally ended it with a kill off a Smurthwaite set.
Adom hit .364 with 14 kills and only two errors in 33 attacks to spark UCO's rout of the NMHU.
The Bronchos hit .308 as a team, with Jessica Legako, Wilson and Taylor Summers all adding five kills apiece. Wilson also had a team-high 11 digs and three service aces.
UCO took control early en route to winning the first set and then overcame a couple of late deficits to pull out the second one. The Bronchos trailed 23-21 before getting back-to-back kills from Morgan Roy and Adom and an ace from Wilson to take a 24-23 lead.
It was tied at 25 before UCO finally prevailed, getting a go-ahead kill from Adom before ending the set on a combined block by Adom, Legako and Summers.
The Bronchos then put the match away with a runaway victory in the final set, getting three early aces from Smurthwaite in opening up a 15-2 lead and cruising in from there.
UCO returns to action Tuesday, going to Oklahoma City to take on the Stars at 7 p.m.
