EDMOND, Okla.—Southern Nazarene took to Edmond on Friday for day one of the UCO/OC Tournament. The Crimson Storm earned a sweep over Emporia State in match one of the day, but fell in four sets to the University of Central Oklahoma in their second game. SNU played at Oklahoma Christian in match one and made the short trek to Central Oklahoma for match two.
Match 1:
Southern Nazarene cruised to a three set win (25-22, 25-17, 25-14) over Emporia State in game one of the UCO/OC tournament. The win marked their third sweep of the young season. SNU had just one sweep during the entire 2021 season.
The Storm quickly got out to a 17-8 lead in the first set, but the momentum quickly turned as Emporia State rattled off 7 seven consecutive points to draw within two. SNU then became in danger of dropping the set altogether when Emporia State put together another 4-0 run that gave them their first lead at 21-20 since taking a 3-1 advantage very early in the match. The wheels came off a bit for the Hornets at the close of the set though, as they committed two service errors and three hitting errors to give the Storm the needed five points to claim set one.
Game two was tight early on, but the Crimson Storm busted it wide open midway through the frame with a 13-1 run that pushed them within two points of set point. From there, Whitney Bowie capped off the game with a kill assisted by Kaley Brubaker.
SNU led wire-to-wire in the third and final game. They scored the first five points of the set and never looked back. The Hornets cut the deficit to two at 5-3, but that was as close as they ever got as the Crimson Storm easily cruised to a 25-14 win to seal the match.
Once again, SNU hit over .300 as a team. They have eclipsed that mark in all three wins this season. Leading the way in that category was Shantalle Demirjian, who was incredibly efficient with her chances, collecting a team-high 10 kills with a .500 hitting percentage.
Sunny Batschelett and Whitney Bowie each added 7 kills. Bowie also added 5 blocks in the match.
Tessa Henry stuffed the stat sheet with 6 kills, 4 blocks, and 7 digs.
Kaley Brubaker once again led the offense from the setter position, tallying 27 assists and 7 digs.
Match 2:
For the first time this season, Southern Nazarene went more than three sets in their match with the University of Central Oklahoma.
The first set was the only one to go the way of Southern Nazarene, and it certainly was not easy. The Storm won a slightly extended set 26-24 after fending off set point and taking three consecutive points, thanks in part to back-to-back kills from Sunny Batschelett. SNU then finished off the set with a block from Whitney Bowie and Tessa Henry.
Southern Nazarene kept it tight throughout much of the second set, but once UCO grabbed momentum they did not let it get throughout the remainder of the match. SNU was within two points at 19-17, but the Bronchos scored the final six points of the game to take set two. UCO then used runs of 6, 7, and 5 to easily take set three 25-12.
In the fourth and final set, Central Oklahoma used an 11-1 run following a 10-10 tie to propel them to the match sealing win.
Tessa Henry put down a career-high 13 kills in the effort.
Bailey Grimes added 9 kills and 5 total blocks.
Kaley Brubaker became the first Crimson Storm player to record a double-double this season, nearly recording a 20-20 game with 31 assists and 19 digs. Madeline Lynch also added 19 digs in the match.
SNU will back in action for two more matches tomorrow afternoon. They will play Oklahoma Christian at 12:30 p.m. before a 4:30 p.m. matchup with St. Mary's. Both games tomorrow will take place at Oklahoma Christian.
