BETHANY, Okla.—The Sawyer Center was rocking on Tuesday night for the SNU Volleyball home opener and the Crimson Storm ladies gave the crowd plenty to cheer about as Southern Nazarene earned a five-set win (24-26, 25-17, 26-28, 25-19, 15-8) over Southeastern Oklahoma State. The match marked the third consecutive contest that SNU and SE have gone the full five sets.
The first set, along with the third set, were taken by Southeastern (1-8, 0-1 GAC), but they had to earn it, taking extended sets 26-24 and 28-26. In that first set, Southern Nazarene (4-5, 1-0 GAC) built a 14-9 lead after an 8-0 run, but Southeastern fought back. The Crimson Storm were within a point of taking the set, but the Savage Storm rattled off three consecutive points to steal game one.
Sets two through four were SNU's best offensive sets. They hit at least .320 in each game, winning two of those three sets, and forcing a game five. In the second set, Southern Nazarene was able to keep Southeastern at bay by consistently keeping the Savage Storm off serve. Only twice in the entire set did Southeastern win back-to-back points as the Crimson Storm cruised to a 25-17 win that tied the match.
The teams traded blows in the third set and eventually found themselves tied at 23. They continued trading blows for the next eight points as SNU fended off set point three times before eventually falling 28-26.
Despite being down two games to one, Southern Nazarene came out confident in set four. They only trailed once the entire game and easily took the fourth set 25-19. A late surge from Southeastern made the fourth set appear much closer than it actually was.
Controlling the fourth set gave Southern Nazarene all the momentum they needed to secure the win in the fifth set. Southeastern scored the first point but SNU quickly tied it up, took the lead, and never looked back.
The Crimson Storm were excellent at the net all night. They tallied a season-high 13 blocks, led by Sunny Batschelett and Whitney Bowie, who each totaled 7 blocks in the contest.
Shantalle Demirjian was sensational on the offensive end, securing a career-high and SNU season-high 20 kills. Sunny Batschelett also had a great offensive night, collecting 15 kills of her own.
Kaley Brubaker notched 50 assists for the first time in her career. She was all over the court, also adding 4 kills, 12 digs, 4 service aces, and 2 total blocks.
Madeline Lynch and Katelyn Branson also earned double-digit digs in the match, tallying 19 and 11, respectively.
After a solid start at home for the season, SNU once again hits the road for three straight matches. They begin with a non-conference trip to Missouri to battle Drury on Sept. 9 before a meeting with Southwest Baptist on Sept. 10. Following that trip, Southern Nazarene will return to GAC play in Alva, Okla. to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State on Sept. 13.
SNU returns home on Sept. 15 against Southwestern Oklahoma State. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Sawyer Center.
