BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene welcomed one of the top teams in the Great American Conference to the Sawyer Center Thursday night, facing the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs in one of their last few regular season matches. After being down two sets in the match, Southern Nazarene put up a thrilling comeback in set 3, but ultimately fell by a final score of 3-1.
Late set service aces allowed the Bulldogs (17-7,11-3 GAC) to sneak by in two of the four sets, stumping the Storm (15-13,5-9 GAC) who put up a close fight from start to finish.
Southern Nazarene attacked the Bulldogs early, finding gaps in their defense and sending over a few kills to work up to an early 6-1 lead. The Storm kept the distance and put up a few scoring runs to outscore SWOSU 8-2 to extend their lead to 14-4. The Bulldogs pulled out a 4-0 run of their own and cut the gap to 14-8, forcing SNU to take time.
Later in the set, SNU controlled a nine-point lead before the Bulldogs strung together three consecutive kills to cut the gap to six. The teams traded points in the final possessions, with SWOSU delivering back-to-back scores to eventually shrink SNU's lead down to one at 21-20.
The Bulldogs' late fire equated to a whopping 6-0 run that put them at set point first, up two. SNU was able to sneak in a kill to make it a one-point game, but a bad serve by the Storm sealed their fate and SWOSU stole the 25-23 set 1 win.
The Bulldogs maintained a slim lead in the early part of set 2, with SNU fighting to gain an edge. A few Storm errors set them back by four points and the Bulldogs were able to climb to a 10-6 lead, prompting Kevin Ingram to take a timeout. Rayanna Mauldin exploded on the offensive end, powering down three kills to put SWOSU behind one and then it was the Bulldog's turn to take time.
Both squads attacked one another with SWOSU staying in front. SNU broke out a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to just a single point but SWOSU made it difficult for the Storm to gain an edge. The Bulldogs had an answer for every Storm kill and managed to stretch their lead to 24-20. SNU did not back down, forcing the bulldogs to commit back-to-back errors to make it a two-point game. Another SNU service error allowed SWOSU to take the second set, 25-23 to put them ahead 2-0 in the match.
Now with Bulldogs up two sets in the match, Southern Nazarene searched for a spark. SWOSU held a small scoring margin early in the third set until SNU caught a burst to tie the set at seven-all. Kills from Sunny Batschelett and Tessa Henry gave SNU some breathing room and the Storm worked up to a three-point lead at 12-9. The Bulldogs knotted the set up once more and points teetered between the two squads.
Southern Nazarene was not ready to let the Bulldogs take another set, putting up three unanswered points to lead 22-19. After SNU took time, SWOSU fought back to tie the set at 22-22, but Whitney Bowie's block at the net gave SNU the one-point advantage. A bad set by the Storm tied the set again at 23-23, but SNU warded off another SWOSU victory with two huge consecutive blocks to avoid the sweep and earn set 3, 25-23.
The intensity increased in set 4 with Southern Nazarene in line to make a match comeback. The score went back in forth the entirety of the match. A 3-0 run midway through gave the Storm their largest lead at 13-10, but SWOSU did not back down. A one-point margin remained on the scoreboard until late in the set and SWOSU's three kills gave them a four-point advantage. The Storm were able to rattle off two of those points, but a kill and a service ace allowed SWOSU to see match point.
The fire continued to stay lit for the Storm as they used three SWOSU errors to crawl back within one point at 23-24. The Bulldogs called time and the teams headed to the benches with SWOSU still with match point. Out of the break, the Bulldogs found an opening and sent the ball to the middle of the floor to call game by a final score of 25-23, winning the match 3-1.
Batschelett and Mauldin led the Storm offense with 19 and 11 kills, respectively.
Kaley Brubaker tallied a total of 41 assists while Madleine Lynch recorded a team-high 32 digs.
Breckynn Myers added in 15 digs, her third contributing to her 1000 career-dig milestone.
Both Whitney Bowie and Tynaa Mojica tallied six blocks.
Up Next
Southern Nazarene will compete in their last home game of the regular season against East Central on Monday, November 6th at 7:00 pm. SNU will also celebrate their three seniors for senior night: Sunny Batschelett, Madeline Lynch, and Breckynn Myers.
