SHAWNEE, Okla. — For the third straight year at Bison Hill, the rivalry between Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist has played to five sets and for the second straight year, SNU came out on top in the final set.
 
The Crimson Storm (7-8, 1-1 GAC) defeated the Bison (7-9, 2-1 GAC) in dramatic fashion, after trailing 2-1 after three sets. SNU tallied a season-high 62 kills in the match, while OBU finished with 54. The Bison had two more blocks but the Crimson Storm had two more aces as they hit double-digits for just the second time this year.
 
Makenna Hunter and Bailey Grimes combined for eight of the team's 12 blocks which is also their second-highest total of the season. Hunter also finished with 12 kills and hit .308 on the night. Bailee Turang recorded her second-highest kill total of the season as the junior finished with 20 on the night to go along with 21 digs and three aces.
 
Meagan Ellis tallied 14 kills, 26 digs, and one block while Kylie Smith finished with 54 assists, her second-straight match with 50+. Smith also had 12 digs while Logan Matthews tallied 17 digs and had two aces.
 
After a back-and-forth opening set, Southern Nazarene jumped out to a 16-13 lead before scoring five straight points to make it 21-13. They went on to take the first set 25-17. Oklahoma Baptist however, started to get going on their home floor as they narrowly edged the Storm out in the second set 26-24 to tie it up.
 
The Bison really got into rhythm in the third set as they took the set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead. SNU jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the fourth, and later pushed that lead to 20-15. OBU almost slammed the door on the Storm as they nearly tied the set at 23-22, but SNU pushed it to five by taking the fourth 25-23.
 
Everybody in the building knew how the fifth set would go as there were five ties and three lead changes in the final frame. Thomas got a kill to make it 12-9 before the Bison scored three straight to tie it 12-12. A few plays later, Turang's kill put SNU up 14-12, and Hunter's kill ended the match, securing the Storm's first GAC win of the season.