DURANT, Okla. – After dropping the opening set, SWOSU Volleyball dug in and gritted out the next three to defeat Southeastern 3-1 on the road on Tuesday night.
The win moves the Bulldogs to 2-0 to start Great American Conference play, now with wins both at home and on the road.
SWOSU fell 25-22 in the first frame. Though the margin remained close throughout, SWOSU seemed to be chasing Southeastern from behind. SWOSU knotted the scoring back up at 21-21, but the Savage Storm answered with four of the final five points to jump ahead 1-0.
The offense started slow, hitting just .122 in the first set. They got things going strong in the second though and did not let up from there after hitting a combined .288 through the final three.
A solid response in the second tied the match back up at 1-1, but things got dicey for a bit in the third. SWOSU trailed 23-20 and had to battle off five set points before swinging the momentum to their favor and putting SE away. It took four bonus points, but SWOSU claimed the set 28-26 and it was smooth sailing from there.
In the fourth set, the Dawgs scored nine points in a row to grab control. The biggest lead grew to 21-10 and SWOSU finally ended things after Southeastern attempted one final comeback.
Lacy Mott led the attack with 19 kills on a team best .472 hitting percentage and she added 14 digs to complete the double-double.
Taryn Galt finished with 10 kills, while
Samantha Kuzma notched nine (.421).
Cameron Turner and
Terez Chavez combined for 40 assists.
Lauren DeSantiago dug out 19 balls at libero.
Southeastern finished hitting .220 as a team, but a mere .038 in the deciding fourth set courtesy of the Bulldog defense.
SWOSU (5-6, 2-0 GAC) remains on the road this week and will play Southern Nazarene on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7pm. The next home match is scheduled for next Friday (Sept. 23) against rival Northwestern, also at 7pm.
