DURANT, Okla. - The Southern Nazarene University volleyball team was back in action bright and early on Saturday morning on day two of the Southeastern Volleyball Classic hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The Crimson Storm opened the day with a tilt against Union University (Tenn.) before wrapping up the tournament with a battle against Colorado State University-Pueblo.

SNU (6-2) turned in a dominant performance against Union (3-3) to down the Bulldogs in straight sets, and against CSU-Pueblo (2-6) the Crimson Storm completed another 3-1 weekend with a four-set win over the Thunderwolves.

SNU scored the first four points of the match against Union, but the Bulldogs answered with four straight tallies to tie the score at 4-4. The teams split the first 20 points of the day evenly, but midway through the set, SNU opened a modest lead. SNU put together a 6-2 run to take a 16-12 lead, but Union battled back to tie things up at 18 late in the set. The Crimson Storm, however, took four of the next five points, with the run capped by a pair of kills from Kayla Thomas, to take a 22-19 lead on their way to the 25-22 set win.

Union opened set two on a 4-0 run, and while SNU battled to stay close, Union held the lead for much of the early part of the frame. An 8-2 SNU run in the middle stages helped the Crimson Storm pull ahead 15-13, but the Bulldogs tied the set at 18, and the teams traded the next six points. With the score tied at 21, The Crimson Storm got successive kills from Thomas, Bailee Turang, and Kylie Smith to take a 24-21 lead, and Meagan Ellis ended the set three points later with a kill to give SNU the 25-23 win.

The win bolstered the Crimson Storm heading into the third stanza, and After falling behind 3-2, SNU rattled off a 7-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. A 5-0 run for the Crimson Storm later in the set helped SNU open a 15-6 advantage, and one more 7-2 spurt helped SNU move to the brink of victory with a 24-13 lead. Union managed to win four straight points to keep the match going, but Turang ended it on the Crimson Storm's fifth match point with a kill to give SNU the 25-17 win in the set and the 3-0 sweep of the match.

Thomas had an outstanding match offensively. She led all players with 18 kills, she hit .615 in the match, and she added two service aces, a solo block and an assist block for a total of 21.5 points. The 18 kills tied for third on the SNU all-time 3-set match record list, and it marked the first time it had been done since Morgan Loewen accomplished the feat against Tabor College (Kan.) on September 29, 2007.

Turang added 13 kills in the match, and she notched her third double-double of the season by adding 12 digs. Smith handed out 39 assists, and Logan Matthews picked up 18 digs in the win. SNU dominated the team stats battles as well, leading in all six major team categories - Points (58.0-36.0), Kills (49-31), Aces (5-3), Blocks (4-2), Assists (42-28), and digs (64-41).

SNU again flexed their offensive muscles in the final match of the weekend. The Crimson Storm out-hit the Thunderwolves in their three set victories, hitting better than .240 as a team in each of the set wins. The Crimson Storm took the first set 25-18, closing the frame on a 6-1 run which was highlighted by aces from Ellis and Thomas, the last of which ended the set.

After CSU-Pueblo took set two 25-18, SNU retook control in the third stanza. Runs of 5-1, 5-0, and 10-2 helped SNU take a 25-12 win in the frame, and SNU attacked the ball at a .348 clip during the set. SNU had 10 kills on only 23 attacks, and the Crimson Storm forced the Thunderwolves to make eight errors in the set.

CSU-Pueblo opened a 7-3 lead early in the fourth frame, but SNU recovered. A 6-2 spurt helped SNU tie the score at 9-9, but the Thunderwolves summoned one last gasp to take a 19-16 lead late in the period, and it looked like they might be able to push the match the distance. A 6-2 run from SNU gave the Crimson Storm a 22-21 lead, and though it went beyond the scheduled distance, SNU closed out the win 26-24 in the set to take the match 3-1.

Turang (18) and Thomas (11) were again in double figures for SNU on the attack, and Bailey Grimes added nine kills as well. Smith posted another 40-assist match, her fourth of the year, with 44 helpers in the match. Smith now has 298 assists on the young season, which has moved her past Lindi Lebsock (2006-09) into third place on the SNU all-time list with 2,802 career assists. Smith was named to the All-Tournament team for her performance. Matthews (15) and Lynch (13) each had double digit digs as well.

SNU will return home to open the 2019 home slate, as well as Great American Conference play, on Tuesday evening when they host the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Bulldogs (3-5, 0-0 GAC). The match will take place in the Sawyer Center, and first serve is slated for 7 p.m.