HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Southern Nazarene nearly pulled off its most impressive comeback in Great American Conference history, but it ultimately fell short in the GAC Semi-Finals against Oklahoma Baptist.
 
The No. 1 seed Bison edged the No. 5 seed Crimson Storm in five sets (13-25, 22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 13-15) as SNU tried to pull off the cinderalla comeback after falling behind 2-0. Senior Bailee Turang led the way on the offensive side of the net with 17 kills to go along with 16 digs. Sunny Batschelett tallied a career-high 13 kills off the Storm bench as she also had a couple of blocks as well.
 
Juniors Meagan Ellis and Kayla Thomas each finished with 10 kills in the contest as Ellis added 13 digs and Thomas had five blocks. Bailey Grimes chipped in with seven kills while senior Kylie Smith had 51 assists to go along with four kills. Logan Matthews finished with 28 digs on the backline while freshman Breckynn Myers came off the bench and added 19 digs as well.
 
Southern Nazarene couldn't slow down the sizzling start from Oklahoma Baptist as the Bison hit .375 in the opening frame. SNU hit just .152 as OKBU took the first set handily 25-13. The Crimson Storm came back in the second set and really made things interesting. After 10 ties and six lead changes, the Bison found themselves in a position to capitalize, and they did just that. They edged SNU 25-22 in the second stanza to take a pivotal 2-0 lead.
 
Earlier today, SNU watched Harding come back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Southwestern Oklahoma State in the other semi-final match and the Storm nearly did it as well. SNU out-hit the Bison in the third frame as they came roaring back to win the set 25-22 to push it to a fourth.
 
In the fourth set, the Bison looked like they were going to silence SNU once and for all, but a late rally got Southern Nazarene right back in it. The Storm out-hit the Bison for the second straight set as they took the frame 26-24 to force the match to a fifth set.
 
Oklahoma Baptist leaped out to a 6-0 run and all hope looked lost for the Storm. After a couple of timeouts, SNU got back in it and cut the deficit to 12-8 and later 13-10. The Bison had match point before Southern Nazarene cut it to 14-13, but the No. 1 seed took the next point and the match as they advanced to the GAC Title game.
 
Southern Nazarene finishes their season with a 22-11 record and can hang their hat on competing down the stretch in the GAC Championships. The Crimson Storm lose two seniors in Bailee Turang and Kylie Smith.