BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene put together a strong showing Tuesday night, taking down East Central 3-1 inside the Sawyer Center on Senior Night.
The Crimson Storm (10-17, 5-10 GAC) avenged their earlier season loss to the Tigers (9-20, 6-9 GAC) with an all-around team effort, winning by set scores of 25-21, 11-25, 25-16, and 25-21.
SNU came out firing in the opening set, hitting .407 as a team to grab an early advantage. The two squads traded points from the jump, but timely kills from Georgia Byers and Isabella Labrada pushed SNU to a 25-21 Set 1 victory.
East Central evened the match with a strong second-set response, capitalizing on a 12-1 run to go in front 19-6. The Storm took advantage of a few ECU errors and kills from Hannah Morgan and Jaidyn Reid, but the deficit was too much as the Tigers claimed Set 2, 25-11.
The Storm regrouped and took control the rest of the way. Southern Nazarene dominated the third set behind the service line, collecting six aces in the frame. Kate Wright and Riley Richardson teamed up down the stretch for a pair of kills to close out Set 3, 25-16.
Southern Nazarene continued to roll as they closed out the fourth, using a late 5-1 run to secure the four-set victory.
Kate Wright led the way for the Crimson Storm with a double-double, recording 13 kills and a career-high 20 digs. Megan Branson anchored the defense with a career-best 24 digs while also adding four service aces.
Brelee Mauldin posted 19 assists and a match-high five aces, while Emma Grace Moddelmog added 20 assists. Jaidyn Reid and Georgia Byers chipped in nine kills apiece, and Riley Richardson tallied two blocks at the net. As a team, Southern Nazarene finished with 16 service aces on the night.
Next Up
The Crimson Storm will travel to Southeastern Oklahoma State for their final regular-season contest. They are set to take on the Savage Storm on Thursday, November 13, at 6:00 pm in Durant.
