ADA, Okla. — Southern Nazarene Volleyball kicked off conference play in Ada Tuesday night in dominating fashion, sweeping the Tigers to earn their first conference victory and third-straight sweep.
 
Last season, the narrative was flipped as the Tigers (3-7,0-1 GAC) beat then Storm twice (1-3, 0-3). This season, the Storm (7-3,1-0 GAC) returned the favor and dominated ECU in straight sets, reliving the 2019 season which was the last time the Storm picked up a win over East Central and swept them in the process. SNU held the Tigers to a .070 hitting percentage while the Storm's defense contributed to 22 Tiger errors.
 
 
The squads went at each other for the entirety of the first set, tying the game multiple times until ECU maintained one and two-point leads late in the set. A kill by freshman Rayanna Mauldin fueled SNU's fire and they went on a 5-0 run, forcing an ECU timeout with the 20-17 lead. SNU came back from the break with ease, dominating the remainder of the set to win it 25-19.
 
Set 2 mirrored the first as both teams answered one another on the attack. Already with nine different lead changes early in the set, SNU quickly pulled away for the 13-10 lead from three consecutive ECU errors, prompting the Tigers to take another timeout. The Storm's three-point advantage quickly doubled and SNU was off to the races, fending off the Tigers for another 25-19 set win.
 
Looking for their third consecutive sweep, SNU broke out to a 9-3 lead to ignite set 3, but the Tigers clawed their way back with a 5-0 run, forcing the Storm to take a timeout and regroup. SNU was swift to take back the lead, getting ahead 17-11 after a mid-set 4-0 run. ECU fought hard to try and escape the three-set defeat, but the Storm were unstoppable until the end, outscoring the Tigers 8-4 in the final possessions to earn the 25-15 set 3 victory.
 
Sunny Batschelett and Tessa Henry each recorded double-digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively.
 
Kaley Brubaker tallied 38 assists.
 
The victory over ECU pushes SNU to start 1-0 in GAC play. The Storm will take a short break from conference play with matches against Southwest Baptist on Friday, September 15th and Drury on Saturday, September 16th. SNU's next GAC opponent will be Southeastern OK State with the match set in Durant on September 19th.