BETHANY – The saying goes "Save your best for last" and that is exactly what Southern Nazarene did on Thursday night in their final home match of the 2019 season as they defeated rival Oklahoma Baptist 3-1.
 
On Senior Night in front of a ferocious crowd inside the Sawyer Center, the Crimson Storm (20-9, 9-5 GAC) put together an unbelievable performance after dropping the first frame 25-13 to the Bison (23-5, 12-2 GAC). Oklahoma Baptist entered Bethany riding a seven-match winning streak while sitting atop the Great American Conference standings, but that didn't matter to SNU as the Storm hit .487 in the fourth set to close out their rivals. SNU even committed 16 service errors in the match, but through gritty defense they didn't allow the Bison any momentum going down the stretch.
 
Bailee Turang and Kylie Smith played their final match on their home floor and both went out with a bang as Turang notched 17 kills to go along with seven digs while Smith dished out 49 assists and added five kills and 15 digs. Junior Kayla Thomas led the way for Southern Nazarene's offensive attack as she picked up right where she left off Tuesday night, racking up 18 kills on a scorching .405 hitting clip. That makes 37 kills in the last two matches for the Storm.
 
After a difficult first set for Meagan Ellis, the junior responded in a big way as she finished with 11 kills to go along with a team-high 17 digs. Bailey Grimes added eight kills while Logan Matthews finished with 12 digs in the contest as well.
 
Oklahoma Baptist held the Crimson Storm to a .048 hitting percentage in the opening frame as the Storm committed nine errors. The Bison hit .242 and had all three of their service aces come in the first frame. OBU jumped out to an 11-8 lead and then pushed it to 18-11 later in the set as they cruised to a 25-13 set win and an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Crimson Storm completely flipped the switch in the second stanza as they hit .342 and held the Bison to a .178 hitting clip. OBU was not going down without a fight however as SNU's largest lead in the set was three points. After a Thomas kill gave the Storm a 22-19 lead, the Bison came right back and nearly tied it, but a kill from Turang gave SNU the set victory and tied the match 1-1.
 
Southern Nazarene's defense carried over into the third set as they held Oklahoma Baptist to a .125 percentage while the Storm picked up three of their four aces in the frame. SNU jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage and later pushed it to 16-10. The Bison went on a 11-6 run and nearly tied it at 22-21 before the Storm closed the door and took a 2-1 advantage.
 
The final set was hands down the best set the Crimson Storm have played all year as they hit .487 and racked up 20 kills. Oklahoma Baptist had no answer as they hit .375 themselves but couldn't slow down the attack of Thomas and Turang. After OBU took a 20-18 lead and looked like they were about to push it to five sets, SNU tied it at 20-20 and again at 22-22. The Storm won three of the next four points to take the match and send the Bison home with their second conference loss of the year.
 
Southern Nazarene will be on the road for their final two matches of the regular season next week as they take on Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. before traveling to Durant to close out the season against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.