BETHANY – The last time Southern Nazarene's volleyball took the floor in a real match, it was the Great American Conference Semi-Finals in November of 2019. After a long awaited return to play, SNU opened their Spring 2021 season in fashion with a five-set victory (25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-12) over Southwestern Oklahoma State inside the Sawyer Center.
Amidst the spectacular season opener for the Crimson Storm (1-0, 1-0 GAC), it was SNU head coach
Kevin Ingram who walked away in the limelight after earning his 400
th career victory on Wednesday evening. Two decades of dominance. It took every ounce of his coaching charisma however to put SNU in the win column to begin the season as it was an exciting match from the opening serve.
The Storm hit just .209 on the night but countered that with 9.0 team blocks on the defensive side of the net. The Bulldogs (0-2, 0-1 GAC) hit .204 in the match and recorded eight service aces compared to six for the Storm. They made some fantastic defensive plays to make life difficult on the SNU offense, but the Storm's offense in the final two frames prevailed.
Five SNU attackers finished with double-digit kills as
Breckynn Myers led the way for Southern Nazarene. The sophomore setter finished with a triple-double, racking up 12 kills, 47 assists, and 14 digs.
Jacy Braziel had a fantastic showing for SNU as she finished with 12 kills on a .276 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs and one block.
Sunny Batschelett was a force on the inside as the sophomore tallied 12 kills and 3.5 blocks on a .290 clip. Senior
Meagan Ellis and
Grace Miracle both finished with 10 kills as Miracle recorded a team-high 21 digs and Ellis finished with 11 digs.
Whitney Bowie had an exquisite outing in her first contest in the Storm uniform as the freshman chipped in seven kills and a couple of digs.
The Crimson Storm came out hot in the opening frame as they hit .250 and took the 1-0 lead after securing the set 25-20. Southwestern Oklahoma State responded in a big way in the second set as they recorded 15 kills and tied the match 1-1 after locking up the frame 25-23.
Southern Nazarene found themselves in a spot of trouble in the third stanza as they hit .385 but the Bulldogs' .444 clip was too much and they fell behind 2-1 after falling 25-20.
SNU needed a big response in the fourth set and they got it. They held SWOSU to a match-low .113 hitting percentage and sent the season opener to a fifth set after winning the fourth 25-22. The Storm's strong defense carried into the fifth as they held the Bulldogs to a .160 clip and squeaked out a victory on their home floor to open the season.
Southwestern Oklahoma State was led by Lacy Mott who finished with a game-high 19 kills and 17 digs. Chezney Nielsen finished with 16 kills whole Taryn Galt recorded 14. SWOSU setter Allie Hoang matched
Breckynn Myers with 47 assists to go along with 22 digs and three kills.
Southern Nazarene now gears up for a long road stretch as their next four matches will be played away from Sawyer. They travel to Durant next Tuesday for a battle with Southeastern Oklahoma State, with first serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in that match.
