BETHANY, Okla.—Coming off a pair of losses, Southern Nazarene got back on track on Saturday with a huge four set upset win (25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 26-24) over Dallas Baptist on Saturday afternoon inside the Sawyer Center.
Dallas Baptist (20-4, 11-1 LSC) came into the contest riding an 11 match winning streak, but that was halted on Saturday as Southern Nazarene (14-11, 7-5 GAC) clutched up in each set to pick up a big confidence boosting win heading into the final two weeks of conference play.
Every set other than the third set was decided by just two points. Both teams reached the 20 point marker in each game, but it was the Storm who came through when it mattered most as they took three of the four sets over the surging Patriots.
Set one proved just how competitive the match would be all afternoon. The Storm scored five of the first six points, but that five point lead was as close as the game ever got. The Patriots eventually fought back and built a 19-16 lead, but SNU scored 7 of the next 9 points to regain an advantage. With SNU leading 23-21, the teams traded points, allowing Southern Nazarene to grab the 25-23 set one win.
In similar fashion, neither team led by more than four points in set two. Trailing 23-19, Southern Nazarene refused to go quietly. They rattled off four straight points to tie the set at 23 but could not keep the momentum going as DBU scored the next two points to take set two 25-23.
The third set was Southern Nazarene's most dominant set. They built an eight point lead, but were still forced to fend off a strong Dallas Baptist squad. Trailing 23-15, DBU rattled off four straight points to cut the deficit in half, but it proved too steep of a hill to overcome as SNU took game three 25-20.
Set four was a game of runs. The Crimson Storm surged to a 9-2 lead in the game, but the Patriots picked up momentum with their own 9-2 run that pushed the DBU in front 16-15. Tightly contested the remainder of the set, Dallas Baptist eventually grabbed a 24-22 lead that gave them an opportunity to force a decisive fifth set. The Storm had other ideas, though. They scored four consecutive points that included back-to-back Shantalle Demirijian kills, to steal the fourth set and earn the match win.
Demirjian put together a great match, totaling a team-high 14 kills with a very efficient .323 hitting percentage. Sunny Batschelett also reached double-digit kills with 10 in the match. She also added 4 blocks.
Kaley Brubaker totaled 38 assists and 8 digs.
Madeline Lynch contineud her superb stretch on the defesnsive side of the ball. She finished with a match-high 24 digs.
SNU will hope this win propels them through the final couple of weeks in Great American Conference play. They currently sit 7th in the GAC, but are just one game out of 3rd place as a number of teams are bunched together. The Storm will have their shot against one of those teams on Tuesday when the SNU hosts Northwestern Oklahoma State, who currently resides in 6th place, for the annual Dig Pink Match. The Rangers defeated SNU in three very tight sets in Alva earlier this season. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Sawyer Center.
