Box Score ADA, Okla. – A season-best hitting performance by the Bulldogs gave SWOSU a 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 27-25) decision over East Central on Tuesday afternoon in the team's Great American Conference opener. It is the first time SWOSU recorded a straight sets victory over the Tigers in Ada.
The Dawgs got off to a blistering start to the match, taking five of the first six points as
Carly Zak picked up two kills.
Blair Dressendorfer took over from there, ripping off six of SWOSU's next seven kills as the Bulldogs coasted to a 25-13 decision. The Tigers never got closer than a 2-1 score to begin the set as the Dawgs hit .447.
East Central showed more fight in the second with the teams tied 17-17 deep into the set. The Tigers then jumped out to a 23-21 lead, prompting a SWOSU timeout and a chance to regroup. A kill by
Paige Holt was followed up by a
DeLayni Fine service ace. Despite ECU killing the slight shift in momentum with a timeout of their own, the Bulldogs took the set 27-25 thanks to a kill by
Kelsi Schmidtberger.
The pivotal third set saw SWOSU again jump out to a quick lead at 16-7, forcing the Tigers into two timeouts early in the frame. At 17-14, SWOSU used their first timeout to kill the ECU rally, taking the first three points out of the timeout with a kill and ace from Zak sandwiching a Schmidtberger score. The teams then found themselves at 23-21 as the Dawgs used their second timeout. Unfortunately, the Tigers would tie it up and the teams would trade scores before ECU took their first lead of the set at 25-24. That lit a spark for the Bulldogs as they scored the next three points as Zak got a killed that she followed up with a block assist with Schmidtberger. A bad set by the Tigers gave SWOSU the final point to secure the victory and move to 1-0 in conference play.
Zak recorded a double-double with match-highs of 12 kills and 13 digs while hitting .267. Dressendorfer also had an influential night as she knocked down 11 kills on 25 attempts.
Kayla Hebert distributed the ball well as she recorded 36 assists and five different Bulldogs finished with at least five kills. The team finished the match hitting a season-best .357.
SWOSU (4-3, 1-0 GAC) returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 19 with a match against Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., at 7 pm. The Bulldogs next conference match will be next Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 7 pm as they welcome Southern Nazarene to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for SWOSU's home opener.
