DURANT, Okla. – The Southern Nazarene volleyball team opened their 2021 season on Thursday night at the Southeastern Classic, hosted by fellow GAC member Southeastern Oklahoma State. In their first taste of action this Fall, SNU fell in straight sets 3-0 to #20 UT-Tyler.
The Patriots (1-0) had an excellent Spring season, finishing with a 14-1 record and losing in their conference championship as their strong play carried over into their season opener. UT-Tyler hit .344 for the night as the Crimson Storm (0-1) had no answer for their powerful offensive attack. SNU hit .158 in the match and tallied just 29 kills, compared to 43 for the Patriots.
The Crimson Storm's front line accumulated 7.0 blocks in the contest while serving the ball well with five aces. UT-Tyler racked up 41 assists compared to just 27 for SNU. The Storm had 14 total errors while UTT had 11.
Sophomore middle blocker
Sunny Batschelett led the offensive attack for Southern Nazarene as she finished with seven kills on an impressive .429 hitting clip. She also added three digs and a couple of blocks as well. Freshman
Whitney Bowie tallied six kills and a pair of blocks while
Jacy Braziel chipped in with five kills.
Freshman
Kaley Brubaker amassed 19 assists in her SNU debut to go along with four digs while senior hitters
Meagan Ellis and
Bailey Grimes each finished with four kills.
Logan Matthews led the way defensively with a team-high six digs and two service aces.
The opening set was the most competitive as UT-Tyler came storming out of the gate hitting .441 and racking up 18 kills. Southern Nazarene stayed in the set with three aces and a pair of blocks as they hit .167 with 11 kills. After a hard fought battle, the Patriots took the first set 25-21 and never looked back from there.
UTT held SNU to a .071 hitting percentage in the second stanza and just seven kills as the Storm struggled to get a rhythm. The Patriots leapt out to a big lead and never looked back as they took a 2-0 lead after winning the frame 25-14. The Crimson Storm's offense picked up in the third set as they hit .226, but UTT's three aces proved costly for SNU's chance to extend the match. Tyler took the frame 25-18 to close the Storm out in straight sets.
Southern Nazarene will be back in action tomorrow afternoon in Durant for their second game of the Southeastern Classic as they take on New Mexico Highlands at 2:00 p.m.
