WEATHERFORD, Okla.—Southern Nazarene traveled to Weatherford for their regular season finale but came up short against the Bulldogs in four sets (25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20).
The Crimson Storm (16-13, 9-7 GAC) defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State (16-11, 12-4 GAC) in five sets earlier this season and they had an opportunity to force another five-set match on Thursday but came up just short in that final fourth set.
SNU fell behind 2-0 in the match after dropping each of the first two sets. The Storm hit below .000 in those first two sets after committing 20 attack errors. They simply could not find any rhythm as they never led in either game.
Despite the tough start, Southern Nazarene showed plenty of grit. A 5-0 run early in the third set gave the Crimson Storm their first lead in any game of the night. The lead grew as many as five points multiple times throughout the set, but each time SWOSU battled back. Leading just 19-18, SNU was finally able to rebuild their cushion and earn their first set win of the match at 25-21.
SNU again built a lead in the fourth set and looked to be on their way to forcing another five-set match with SWOSU, but a furious late rally from the Bulldogs squashed those hopes. Trailing 17-13, Southwestern scored 12 of the final 15 points of the match to secure the set and the match win.
Bailey Grimes was SNU's leader on the court all night. She tied Shantalle Demirijian for the team-lead with 8 kills, while also also leading the team with 5 blocks.
Whitney Bowie and Sunny Batschelett each totaled 7 kills in the match.
SNU was forced to fend off a lot of attacks from SWOSU, leading to four Crimson Storm players in double-digits for digs. Madeline Lynch led the way with 20 kills, her second consecutive 20-kill match. Kaley Brubaker was not far behind with 18 digs, one off a season-high. She also dished out 33 assists for her 16th double-double of the season. Breckynn Myers and Tatum Smith added 17 and 10 digs, respectively.
The loss officially puts SNU as the No. 6 seed heading into the Great American Conference tournament, where they will once again meet up with Southwestern Oklahoma State, who secured the No. 3 seed. The two programs have met twice in the GAC tournament, where SWOSU won both times. They will meet in the early match on Thursday, November 10. First serve is set for 10:00 a.m at the Firelake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
