After a hard-fought weekend at home, the Lady Cats traveled to Oklahoma to face Mid-America Christian University on Friday and University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma on Saturday.

 C of O vs Mid-America Christian – Friday, October 25

Oklahoma City, OK - The Lady Cats began the opening set against MACU with a Bri Linehan kill, which was quickly met with seven straight Evangels’ points. After going down 1-7, kills by Bailey Chamberlain, Abby Chadwell, Christa Duffel, and Brooklyn Crawford put the Lady Cats back in the set at 6-10. The Lady Cats were forced to call a timeout, however, when they found themselves down 7-14. A Bailey Chamberlain kill out of the timeout followed by a Bri Linehan kill made it 9-16. After an exchange of points, the Lady Cats took their second timeout of the set trailing 14-22. After the timeout, the Lady Cats went on a roll, going on a 6-1 run to force a MACU timeout. The run was highlighted by four Bailey Chamberlain kills, one Bri Linehan kill, and an Anna Howe service ace. Now only down four, two Bri Linehan kills and a Brooklyn Crawford kill forced MACU to take their second timeout, as the Lady Cats only trailed 23-24. The Evangels quickly scored after the timeout, however, as the Lady Cats dropped the first set 23-25.

After putting together a strong 9-3 run and falling just short in set one, the Lady Cats looked to continue their momentum to the next set. The Lady Cats were first on the board, and the teams exchanged points as the Lady Cats trailed 8-9. In that stretch, Brooklyn Crawford and Grace Hancock both recorded a kill. As the Evangels began to extend their lead, kills by Bri Linehan, Christa Duffel, Grace Hancock, and Emma Godwin pulled the Lady Cats closer and, with the Lady Cats trailing 15-17, the Evangels used their first timeout. The Evangels scored three straight after the timeout, and the Lady Cats promptly called a timeout of their own. A Christa Duffel kill was all the Lady Cats could put together as the Evangels went on an 8-1 run, taking set two, 16-25.

The Lady Cats scored two straight to begin set three, and kills by Kamryn Link and Christa Duffel had given the Lady Cats a 6-5 advantage. After losing the lead, two kills by Bailey Chamberlain and one kill by Bri Linehan kept the Lady Cats within one point, 9-10. After the Evangels scored four to the Lady Cats’ one, the Lady Cats took their first timeout down 10-14. The Lady Cats fought hard with a 5-1 run, thanks to two blocks by both Christa Duffel and Bailey Chamberlain, a Kamryn Link service ace, and a Bailey Chamberlain kill. This run led to an Evangels timeout, with the Lady Cats only down 16-18. The Evangels scored four straight out of the timeout before the Lady Cats could answer with two points. Trailing 18-24, a Bri Linehan kill was met by a MACU point to win the set 25-19.

Bailey Chamberlain and Bri Linehan both led the team with 9 kills. Christa Duffel recorded 5 kills. Kamryn link dished out 15 assists, and Maddie Michel provided 14 assists. Mica Chadwell posted 22 digs, and Maddie Michel pulled out 10.

C of O vs University of Science & Arts – Saturday, October 26

Chickasha, OK – The Lady Cats hoped to get back on track against the Drovers of University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma after falling short in three straight matches.

The Lady Cats came out firing in set one, going on a 6-1 run to force the Drovers to use their first timeout early. The scoring run included kills from Bri Linehan (3x), Abby Chadwell, and Bailey Chamberlain. Linehan and Chamberlain also teamed up for a block. Coming out of the timeout, the teams exchanged points with three kills by Brooklyn Crawford and one kill by Christa Duffel giving the Lady Cats the 9-5 advantage. The Drovers scored four straight however, to tie up the set. A Drover attack error and a Kamryn Link service ace put the Lady Cats back in front, 11-9. After a Drover point, the teams exchanged six points each as the Lady Cats were clinging to a slim 17-16 advantage. The Drovers called their second timeout as the Lady Cats bumped their lead to 19-16. Kills by Bri Linehan and Abby Chadwell, mixed in with two Mica Chadwell service aces, highlighted a 6-2 Lady Cat run to win the set, 25-18.

After two Drover points to begin set two, the Lady Cats scored four straight to take the lead. Bailey Chamberlain and Bri Linehan both recorded kills as the Lady Cats led 6-4. The Drovers scored four straight to take the 8-6 lead, but a Brooklyn Crawford kill ended their run. A Christa Duffel kill put the score at 8-10, before Duffel and Chamberlain teamed up for a block to keep the deficit at two. After an exchange of points, Bri Linehan recorded a kill, Mica Chadwell served an ace, and Abby Chadwell recorded a kill to take a 13-12 lead, forcing the Drovers to take their first timeout. Two more Lady Cat points thanks to a Bri Linehan and Brooklyn Crawford block as well as another Mica Chadwell ace gave the Lady Cats a 16-13 lead. A Brooklyn Crawford kill kept the Lady Cat lead at two, but the Drovers scored two straight to tie the set. Another Crawford kill after an exchange of points had the Lady Cats up 20-17. After the Drovers pushed the score to 19-20, the Lady Cats called a timeout to regroup. The Lady Cats scored two to the Drovers three, thanks to kills by Allison Findley and Bri Linehan. Tied 22-22, each team fought hard, with two Bri Linehan kills and a Brooklyn Crawford kill forcing a Drovers timeout as the Lady Cats led 25-24. The Drovers scored three straight out of the timeout as the Lady Cats fell 25-27 in set two.

The Lady Cats came out strong in the third set, going up 7-2 thanks to a kill by Bailey Chamberlain, three kills by Bri Linehan, and a kill by Brooklyn Crawford. The Lady Cats found themselves up 10-4 after Brooklyn Crawford recorded another kill then teamed up with Christa Duffel for a block. The Drovers called their first timeout, and the teams went back and forth as kills by Brooklyn Crawford, Allison Findley, Bailey Chamberlain, and Bri Linehan kept the Lady Cats ahead at 14-7. An Anna Howe service ace extended the Lady Cat lead, and the Drovers took their second timeout after the Lady Cats had a strong 19-10 lead. The Drovers fought hard, and the Lady Cats held a 22-15 lead after a kill by Mica Chadwell, an Emma Godwin service ace, and a kill by Allison Findley. Up 24-18 after a Bri Linehan kill, the Drovers scored one more before Bailey Chamberlain put the set away with a kill and a 25-19 win.

After two Bri Linehan kills, the Lady Cats were down 2-4 to begin the fourth set. Linehan tacked on another kill early, but the Drovers were doing most of the scoring. The Lady Cats were down 4-8 after the Drovers scored three straight. Brooklyn Crawford ended their run with a kill, but the Drovers tacked on three more. Down 5-11, Allison Findley, Bailey Chamberlain, and Bri Linehan all recorded kills to cut the deficit to 8-13. Bailey Chamberlain recorded a block to inch closer to the Drovers’ score, but the Lady Cats were still down five after an exchange of points. The Lady Cats posted three straight points with a Bri Linehan kill and two straight Maddie Michel service aces. The Drovers however, answered back with two points and the Lady Cats called their first timeout down 13-17. The timeout was effective, as the Lady Cats went on a 5-1 run to force the Drovers to take a timeout with the set tied, 18-18. The Drovers’ timeout did not sway the momentum, as the Lady Cats poured on four more points, thanks to two timely Jocee Pettyjohn service aces and a Christa Duffel kill. Now up 22-18, the Lady Cats’ momentum forced another Drovers timeout. The strategy was once again ineffective, as the Lady Cats scored three straight with an Allison Findley kill, a Drover attack error, and another Jocee Pettyjohn service ace. A 12-1 Lady Cat scoring run finished the set and gave the Lady Cats the 3-1 win.

Bri Linehan led the team with an impressive 24 kills. Brooklyn Crawford followed with 14. Kamryn Link posted 29 assists and Maddie Michel posted 22. Mica Chadwell provided 33 digs and Kamryn Link tallied 11.

The Lady Cats will return to action on Friday, November 1 at home against Wayland Baptist University, as part of homecoming weekend. They posted a five-set win in their last matchup against WBU.