WEATHERFORD, Okla. – This team sure does have a flair for the dramatic. After falling behind two sets to none at the start of the night, SWOSU (7-5, 3-1) rattled off three straight set victories to claim the win against Northwestern Oklahoma State (4-12, 1-3) Tuesday night 3-2.
It would have been hard for Head Coach
Josh Collins' team to produce a more dramatic win than their five-set thriller against Oklahoma Baptist two weeks ago, but they came pretty close in tonight's match with the Rangers.
The Bulldogs came out of the gate slow, and seemed to have a hard time getting their attack going. Errors riddled the offense, as the team had a combined attacking percentage of .132 through the first two sets. A total of thirteen attacking errors spelled trouble for SWOSU, and it was more errors than they would have in the remaining three sets combined.
The match came to the third set and the Bulldogs had a choice to make, buckle up and fight or roll over. And you know there's no quit in this team.
"We had to really dig deep to beat a really good team," Coach Collins said after the game and dig deep they did.
Backs to the wall, SWOSU took command of the third set from the jump. The Bulldogs claimed three of the first four points in the frame thanks to kills from
Lacy Mott, she wound up with six in the third alone. A four-point scoring run sandwiched in between two three-point runs gave SWOSU the third set and some life in the match.
The fourth set was not so easy.
Lacy Mott continued to dominate the night contributing eight more kills in this set, and she got some help from
Maicee Morgan adding in five kills of her own. It was knotted at 11-11 when one of those eight kills from Mott started a five-point scoring run for the Bulldogs who never looked back.
With the fourth set in the bag, that meant we were headed to a fifth with the comeback officially on. And when the team needed points with the score tied at 3-3, who else could they have turned to but
Lacy Mott. Mott slammed home three straight kills to give the Bulldogs a three point lead they would never give up.
Markenzie Benoit put one final emphatic exclamation point on the match in a way only she can, and sealed an epic comeback for SWOSU.
It was the first time that the Bulldogs had come back to win from two sets down since they did it against St. Edwards in August 2018.
She may have been mentioned thrice already, but
Lacy Mott's impact on the game cannot be overstated. She was the catalyst for the resurgence of the SWOSU offense in the back half of the match, matching her career high in kills with 22.
Markenzie Benoit was her dangerous self as usual, putting up 14 kills and two total blocks.
Maicee Morgan came alive in the last three sets, as she registered all ten of her kills in the sets the Bulldogs won.
Setter
Allie Hoang rallied the troops with her energy, and pulled off an incredible no look kill in the middle of the fifth set that felt like the final nail in the coffin of the match.
Perhaps the most incredible performance of the night came from Bulldog Nation, who had the Pioneer Cellular Event Center rocking once again. They may have come out for Taco Night at the PCEC, but they stayed for the comeback. The energy in the building had an undeniable effect on the outcome of the match.
"I want to give a huge shout out to our fans," said Coach Collins. "The atmosphere was absolutely incredible. It's the best that I've ever seen in my ten years here. It plays a huge role in us being successful here and I just thank them so much."
Call it a cause or a coincidence, but the Bulldogs did not lose another set once the Taco Mayo Tacos made their way into the building.
SWOSU has only one day to rest and recover after Tuesday night's thriller because they will play host to Southern Nazarene on Thursday night at 7:00 pm for another electric night in the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
