BETHANY, Okla.—The Sawyer Center was rocking on Thursday night as Southern Nazarene hosted Southeastern Oklahoma State for their annual Dig Pink match. The matchup certainly lived up to the billing as for the second time this season the two squads would go the distance. This time it was Southern Nazarene who got the win (25-14, 25-19, 26-28, 25-27, 15-11), but it was not without plenty of drama.
It felt like three different matches as Southern Nazarene (10-12, 4-8 GAC) completely dominated early in the match before Southeastern (7-15, 4-8 GAC) grabbed all the momentum midway through the third set. They used that momentum to take both the third and fourth sets, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Crimson Storm regained their composure in that final frame as they were finally able to put away the Savage Storm 15-11.
The Crimson Storm have gotten it rolling at the net as of late. For the third consecutive match, Southern Nazarene notched 13 total blocks, including 22 block assists. The leader of the pack was Bailey Grimes, who tied the school record of 10 block assists in one match. She added a solo block as well, giving her 11 in the match, tied for second most in SNU single-match history.
Career nights were all around for the Storm. Sunny Batschelett recorded a new career-high of 17 kills, surpassing her previous high of 16, which she also earned against Southeastern earlier this season. She earned the career-high with one final blow as the winning kill in the fifth set.
Breckynn Myers needed just three assists on the night to reach 1,000 for her career and she is now well on her way to the next milestone as she totaled 62 assists for another career-high. That mark also puts her in a tie for 6th place all-time in SNU single-match history.
Early on it did not look like these huge individual totals would be possible. The Crimson Storm were cruising along, easily winning the first two sets. Leading 10-2 in the third set, SNU appeared to be well on their way to the first sweep of the season. Things quickly turned, though, as Southeastern rattled off a 10-2 run that tied the set at 12. Eventually, Southeastern built a 24-22 lead but the Storm were able to fend off set point twice, turning it into match point for the Storm after three straight points. It was not meant to be, though, as Southeastern ultimately took the prolonged set 28-26.
SNU again had their chances to close out the match in the fourth set but were unable to do so. Holding an 11-5 lead, Southern Nazarene surrendered a 9-1 run that would give Southeastern a 14-12 advantage. The Savage Storm eventually turned that into a 24-21 advantage and were on the brink of forcing a fifth set. Just as they did in the third set, SNU fended off set point and finally retook the lead at 25-24. Again they simply could not close out Southeastern, though. The Savage Storm responded with their own three point run to once again take an extended set 27-25.
The final set would begin back-and-forth. Midway through the set, the teams found themselves knotted at 7. From there, it became the Jacy Braziel show. SNU put together a 7-2 run that included 3 kills and 1 block from Braziel that once again pushed it to match point. Of Braziel's 7 kills in the match, 4 came in that deciding fifth set. The match would finally be finished off from Batschelett's one last kill that gave her a career-high.
The win was huge for the Crimson Storm who are currently fighting for a spot in the GAC Championships. Coming into the match, SNU sat one game behind Southeastern and Northwestern for the final two spots in the tournament. With Southern Nazarene's win over Southeastern, as well as a Northwestern loss on Thursday night, the Crimson Storm have now moved into a three-way tie for seventh in the GAC. That tie will be broken next Tuesday as SNU travels to Alva for their rematch with Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Storm struggled in their first match with Northwestern, falling in straight sets. Revenge is a must for the Crimson Storm this time. First serve is set for Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 7:00 p.m. in Alva, Okla.
