WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU Volleyball might have played one extra set than they would have liked to against Southern Nazarene on Thursday night but collected a hard-fought 3-1 conference victory over a tough Crimson Storm team to close out the week.
The win is a great bounce back following the letdown at Northwestern on Tuesday. SWOSU moves to 8-4 and 3-1 in Great American Conference action.
In a very competitive opening set, both teams had set points – first with SWOSU at 24-22 and then SNU at 25-24. The Dawgs fought off the threat and eventually went on to the claim set one.
Set two was the only decisive stretch of the night. SWOSU nearly led wire-to-wire and dispatched SNU 25-14 in their most efficient offensive set to quickly take control of the match and lead things 2-0.
The night was nearly wrapped up swiftly in three sets before SNU was able to sneak out a victory to extend the match. The Dawgs led 24-21 in the third and had match point and fans on their feet, but the visiting Storm rallied to tie and eventually won the frame by claiming six of the final seven points.
All of the sudden, the Bulldogs found themselves on their heels early in the fourth set.
SNU jumped out to a 10-6 lead riding the momentum of the previous set's result before SWOSU finally regained their footing and tied things back up at 10-10. From there, things tensed up in a set that featured a match high 13 ties and four lead changes. Both sides traded points and leads until the 21-21 mark when SWOSU finally produced one last scoring run to close things out.
Lacy Mott came alive in the fourth set to help spark plug the offense. She had six of her 16 kills in the frame – the most of the Bulldog in any set on the night.
For the match SWOSU finished with a .161 hitting percentage, snapping a four-match streak of .200 or better. The good news is the Dawgs limited the Storm to just .073. That's the lowest hitting percentage SNU has posted all season.
SWOSU got double-digit kill contributions from four players, led by Lacy Mott with 16 and Hailey Smith and Zoey Sparks who each had season highs of 12. Maicee Morgan added 10 on the team's second high hitting percentage.
Sparks also led the defense with four blocks. Jada Permenter posted 24 digs, topping Mott's 20 for another double-double.
Terez Chavez (27) and Cameron Turner (24) combined for 51 assists.
Next week will feature three GAC contests. SWOSU hosts Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday, October 3 before traveling to Arkadelphia, Arkansas for matchups against Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist on Thursday and Friday.
