#18 Maggie Plake
#25 Kaylan Smith
College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats took care of business in short order Monday night, as they defeated the Stars of Stephens College in three straight sets (25-9, 25-14, 25-14).
The Lady Cats opened the match with a 5-0 run and never looked back, stretching their lead to as many as sixteen points in the first set. In set two, C of O led 11-3 and maintained a significant advantage throughout the set, while Coach Muckenthaler took the opportunity to periodically rest her starters. The third set found the Stars trailing by only two points (11-13), but C of O stretched the lead to five at 18-13 before going on a 7-1 run to close out the set and claim the victory.
C of O stat leaders featured Rielly Wallace (30 assists, 3 aces), Izzy Gibbany (16 digs), Kaylan Smith (7 kills), and Maggie Plake (5 blocks). On the evening, the Lady Bobcats posted a .431 hitting percentage, driving down 38 kills with just seven errors. The Stars (0-3) were led by Lauren Vineyard (14 assists, 6 digs) and a trio of players with six kills apiece.
Monday’s win places the Lady Bobcats’ early-season record at 3-3. C of O will continue their homestand with a 6:00 p.m. match on Thursday evening against a very tough Bellevue University team.