BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene Volleyball faced a tough battle inside the Sawyer Center Tuesday evening in their annual Dig Pink match, falling to Southeastern Oklahoma State, 3-1.
Earlier this season, the Crimson Storm (14-11,4-8 GAC) battled a fierce Savage Storm (11-12,7-5 GAC) team over in Durant, falling in that match also by a score of 3-1. SE came to Bethany and delivered the same results, using just a slightly better hitting percentage and five more kills than SNU to get the job done.
Both Storm squads went at one another to start set 1, answering each other's attacks to result in multiple ties and lead changes. After SNU gained a two-point edge, the Savage Storm broke out a 5-0 run to cruise to a 15-12 lead, prompting the Crimson Storm to take a timeout.
SNU closed that gap to one point after the break, but the Savage Storm delivered a few more rounds of kills and service aces to work all the way up to a 23-17 lead. A Sunny Batschelett kill and the fearless defense from Rayanna Mauldin cut SNU's deficit back two points and the Savage Storm were forced to call time. Southeastern powered down a kill and a service ace to reach the 25 mark and earned the set win, 25-21.
The Savage Storm maintained a slim lead in the early portion of set 2, but the Crimson Storm pulled out an epic scoring run midway through the set, featuring back-to-back service aces from Tatum Smith. SNU's 6-0 explosion forced the Savage Storm to take a timeout and the Crimson Storm controlled a 15-12 lead. Southeastern fought back to tie the game at 16 all, but the Crimson Storm continued to intensify both their offense and defense, using another scoring run to work up to a 22-18 lead. SE dished out a few kills late, but Southern Nazarene answered each one of them, getting the set 2 win of 25-20 to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was an intense battle with the largest lead margin at just two points early on. The two teams answered one another's attacks and battled to numerous ties the majority of the set. Southeastern finally turned the tables late in the set after throwing up a 4-0 run to reach set point at 24-20. Whitney Bowie's kill brought SNU back within three, but a Savage Storm kill to answer sealed the deal and they went on to take set 3, 25-21.
Now down a set in the match, SNU looked for a comeback. The Savage Storm worked up to a 6-3 lead to open set 4, but the Crimson Storm quickly rattled off that deficit with a 5-0 run to lead the Savage Storm 8-6. The Savage Storm fought to keep the gap close, but SNU continued to stay ahead. Leading by just a point midway through the set, Southern Nazarene decided to turn on the jets once more, exploding for another 6-0 run for the 21-14 lead.
The blue and gold did not back down, using two Crimson Storm errors and a kill to jump back within four points. Southeastern continued to take advantage of SNU errors and eventually tied the match at 22 all. An SE service error put the Crimson Storm in front by one again, but the Savage Storm worked quickly with back-to-back points to reach match point. The squads answered each other's attacks to knot the score at 25-25 and SE put the match away with another kill and an attack error by the Crimson Storm, winning set 4, 27-25.
The Savage Storm's fourth set victory allowed them to walk away with the final 3-1 match win, making that their second four set victory over Southern Nazarene this season.
Whitney Bowie had a terrific night at the net, tallying 16 kills and five blocks.
Batschelett and Tessa Henry also had double-digit kills with 10 and 11, respectively.
Kaley Brubaker recorded 45 assists and teammate Madeline Lynch tallied 23 digs.
Up Next
Southern Nazarene will compete in their last non-conference match of the regular season as they head to Dallas Baptist University Saturday, October 28th. Opening serve is set for 2 p.m.
