BETHANY, Okla.—Southern Nazarene increased their winning streak to seven games in one of the wildest games you will ever see. The Crimson Storm were within a point of sealing the match in straight sets, but instead were forced to five sets, including the longest set in Great American Conference history. After a grueling two and a half hours, SNU dug deep for the five-set win (25-17, 25-18, 35-37, 18-25, 15-12).
The Crimson Storm (13-9, 7-3 GAC) were dominant in the first couple of sets, but ran into an extremely gritty Arkansas Tech squad (5-17, 3-7 GAC) that simply would not go away. The Golden Suns avoided a sweep by extending set three all the way to 37-35, the longest set in GAC history, and eventually won the game to extend the match.
In sets one and two, Southern Nazarene looked far superior as they easily won set one 25-17 and set two 25-18. They hit an incredible .385 during games one and two and looked to be on their way to a fourth sweep in five games.
Rather than a sweep, the match went on to become the longest of the season after a grueling set three. The Storm built an 18-15 lead, but Arkansas Tech turned around with their own three point lead after taking seven of the next eight points. The teams went blow-for-blow the rest of the way as neither side could gain an advantage. During that third game, Arkansas Tech held set point eight times, while Southern Nazarene held match point five times. With each team out of substitutions, it became a battle of attrition. Eventually, a pair of Storm errors finally gave Arkansas Tech the win in set three to extend the match.
The emotions of set three gave Arkansas Tech a huge spark. They looked like a completely different team in the fourth game as they opened up an eight point lead following a 10-1 run. SNU tried to close the gap and eventually got within four points, but the Golden Suns went on to force a decisive fifth game after taking set four 25-18.
After dropping a pair of sets and seeing their two-game lead disappear, SNU was left with one last shortened set to come away with a victory and keep their winning streak intact. Holding a slim 10-9 lead, the Crimson Storm picked up the pace with three straight kills that gave them some breathing room at 13-9. The Golden Suns battled back to within two points, but finally SNU was able to put Arkansas Tech away for good as Whitney Bowie finished it off with a kill.
The long match led to a number of career-highs for SNU. Sunny Batschelett put down a career-high 21 kills and was efficient all night, hitting at a .356 clip. She also came up big at the net with 4 blocks.
Kaley Bruabker was just one-assist shy of being the 13th SNU volleyball player with 60 assists in a match. She totaled a career-high 59, while also collecting her third straight double-double with 16 digs. She also added 4 blocks in the match.
After tying a career-high with 25 digs on Tuesday, Madeline Lynch blew past that mark on Thursday night with 31 digs in the match.
Shantalle Demirjian, Tessa Henry, and Whitney Bowie reached double-digit kills with 14, 13, and 12, respectively. Bowie also added 5 blocks.
Bailey Grimes helped out with 5 kills and 5 blocks.
Breckynn Myers was big for the Storm, as well. She finished with 12 digs and had 3 big kills in the match.
The win moves SNU just one game behind Oklahoma Baptist for second place in the Great American Conference. The Storm's win streak will be put to the test on Friday as SNU plays host to Harding for Senior Day. Harding comes in as the top team in the conference at 21-1. They are unbeaten in GAC play and have won 19 straight matches overall. At 4:00 p.m., SNU will be honoring their five seniors; Shantalle Demirjian, Bailey Grimes, Madeline Lynch, Victoria Mendez, and Peyton Parsons. First serve with the Bisons will follow the Senior Day festivities.
