BETHANY – A season-high 20 kills from Bailee Turang led the way for the Southern Nazarene University volleyball team inside the Sawyer Center on Friday afternoon in a 3-1 win over Ouachita Baptist.
 
Turang couldn't be stopped right from the opening serve. The senior needed 12 kills entering the match to move into third place all-time in school history for career kills and it didn't take her long. She finished the match hitting .250 on a season-high 52 attack attempts that propelled the Crimson Storm (14-6, 4-2 GAC) to a big win on their home floor. She also added a season-high five aces as well.
 
On top of Turang's dominant performance, Meagan Ellis had arguably her best outing this season too. The junior racked up a season-high 14 kills to lead SNU with a .325 hitting percentage on the night. Sunny Batschelett was the catalyst off the Storm bench as the freshman tallied nine kills to go along with one block in the match.
 
None of that Southern Nazarene offense would've happened without the work of Kylie Smith however. The senior setter was magnificent on Friday, dishing out 50 assists while adding 11 digs. She also added a season-high four aces in the match as well. Kayla Thomas chipped in eight kills in the match while Logan Matthews led the way in digs for SNU as the sophomore tallied 25 in the contest and added two aces.
 
The Tigers (9-8, 4-2 GAC) played a really solid match across the board, but SNU got the crucial points when they needed them.
 
After a back and forth first set, Ouachita jumped out to an 18-13 lead before the Storm went on a 9-3 run to tie the set 21-21. SNU used a couple of kills from Turang and Meagan Ellis to close the first set in 25-23 fashion.
 
Much like the first set, the second was just as competitive. This time, the Crimson Storm jumped out to a 14-10 lead but the Tigers were not backing down. They later tied the set 16-16 before SNU ripped off four straight points to take a 20-16 advantage. Ouachita responded with three straight points to make it 20-19, before Southern Nazarene closed the second set on a 4-1 run to take a big 2-0 set lead.
 
Ouachita was not going quiet into the night however. They came back in the third stanza with some firepower to jump out to a 12-6 advantage. After extending that to 18-12, the deficit was too much for SNU to overcome as the Tigers picked up one and pushed the match to a fourth set.
 
After Southern Nazarene leaped out to an 18-13 lead in the fourth, the Tigers were still not throwing in the white flag. But Turang was not having it. She closed the match with six kills in the final frame to close out Ouachita 25-20 to take the victory.
 
It will be a very short rest for the Crimson Storm as they turn around and take on the Henderson State Reddies tomorrow morning at 11:00 am inside the Sawyer Center for the "Dig Pink" match.