SHAWNEE, Okla. — In their last regular season game of the year, Southern Nazarene dropped a hard-fought battle to rival Oklahoma Baptist, a team that had already clinched their spot in the 2023 GAC Tournament.
The Storm (15-15,5-11 GAC) looked to leave a lasting mark on the 2023 season by taking down the Bison in the opening set. The Bison (19-8,13-3 GAC) were quick to respond in the next three sets, using the home advantage well in preparation for their post-season run. Southern Nazarene was significantly even with Oklahoma Baptist across the stat sheet, but just a few more kills on the Bisons' side did the job in their 3-1 win.
The scoring margin was close in the opening set, the largest just being three points early on and then again midway through the set. The teams worked through numerous lead changes and ties, but OBU was in line to victory as they ended up leading 23-22. Southern Nazarene halted the Bison with a fierce 3-0 run, backed by three straight kills from Sunny Batschelett and Tessa Henry, who propelled the Storm to a 25-23 set 1 win.
SNU used that energy in set two, working up to an 11-6 lead after a few Bison errors. SNU controlled that lead for the majority of the second set, keeping three and four point leads until OBU caught fire and cut the deficit. The Bison exploded for an unstoppable 7-0 run that could not be answered by the Storm and they snagged the set 2 win, 25-21.
OBU's set 2 victory left a lasting sting that SNU could not recover from and the Bison held SNU to just 15 points in the next set. SNU stayed close early in set 3, but multiple scoring runs by OBU was enough to lift them to a 17-10 lead. SNU fought hard to cut the deficit, but kill after kill gave OBU the edge they needed to defeat SNU 25-15, taking the 2-1 match lead.
Batschelett, Henry, and Tynaa Mojica, worked swiftly in the early part of set 4, delivering a round of kills that put the Storm ahead 6-2. OBU responded with a run of their own and eventually locked up the set at six-all and the squads went back and forth from there. After lead switches and ties, the Bison maintained a slim lead that Southern Nazarene was never able to chip away. The Bison reached match point with SNU down three and Mojica's kills were not enough to avoid the damage and OBU went on to earn the set 4 victory, 25-22, for the 3-1 match win.
Despite not achieving the results they had hoped for this season, Coach Kevin Ingram and his squad had numerous season highlights from a talented group of athletes. Coach Ingram and his team look to build off of this year as they conclude the 2023 regular season.
