BETHANY, Okla.—Southern Nazarene hit a season high .265 on the way to a four-set win (25-17, 21-25, 27-25, 25-23) over Cameron University inside the Sawyer Center on Tuesday night.
Nothing came easy for the Storm (5-8, 0-5 GAC) as Cameron (1-16, 0-6) played their best game of the season and made some incredible defensive plays to keep the ball alive. They pushed Southern Nazarene to the brink in sets three and four, but the Storm were able to fend them off and narrowly escape a fifth set.
The first set would prove to be the outlier of the match. The Storm controlled the set from the first serve and never trailed. They used a 7 point run to build a commanding 16-7 advantage and never looked back. The team seemed like they could do no wrong as they hit an incredible .412 in the set, racking up 17 kills and just 3 errors.
Things quickly changed in the second set, though. Cameron jumped all over Southern Nazarene, scoring the first seven points of the frame. A Kevin Ingram timeout would calm his squad down as they responded with 5 quick points of their own, but were never able to fully recover as Cameron led wire-to-wire in a 25-21 set two win.
Set three was a see-saw battle all the way through. Southern Nazarene built a commanding 16-6 advantage, but the Aggies came roaring back. They tallied the next eight points and cut the deficit to just two. The teams traded the next 11 points in the set before the Crimson Storm finally collected back-to-back points, bringing the score to set-point. The Aggies fended off set point, though, tallying four consecutive points and eventually putting themselves in set-point position with a 25-24 lead. The Crimson Storm managed to put together one last push, though, benefiting from a block error and two attack errors to finally win set three, 27-25.
The drama was certainly not finished, though. After finding themselves in another late hole, Cameron again rallied to fend off set point. With SNU leading 24-19, Cameron notched four straight points on 3 kills and a service ace to cut SNU's lead down to just 24-23. The Storm caught one final break, though, benefiting from a service error that ended the match prior to another set being extended.
The offense was led by a brilliant performance from sophomore setter, Breckynn Myers. She totalled 43 assists and also took advantage anytime she saw an opening, tallying 5 kills as well. She just missed out on another double-double as she also collected 9 digs on the defensive end.
Freshman Whitney Bowie matched a season-high 15 kills on the night, hitting an impressive .355 along the way.
Meagan Ellis and Sunny Batschelett each notched 12 kills. Ellis would also add 17 digs. Both marks would be good for season-highs.
It is back to the road and back to Great American Conference action next time out for the Crimson Storm as they look for not only their first conference win, but also their first true road win of the season. It will not be an easy trip as the Storm are set to take on the current top two squads in the Great American Conference in Harding and Arkansas Tech. The road trip begins in Searcy, Ark. on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
