BETHANY, Okla. – SWOSU walked away with its first conference win of the season after a wild four-set victory over Southern Nazarene on Tuesday night inside the Sawyer Center.
The Bulldogs (6-3) will now head to their final non-conference classic of the season in Topeka, Kan., where they will take on Drury and (RV) Missouri-St. Louis before closing out the weekend against No. 4 Washburn.
Both Layla Collins and Jenna Houk had massive performances in the win. Collins led the Bulldogs with 18 kills while adding four blocks, with both marks representing career highs. Houk recorded a career-high 24 digs, which led all players in the match, while also adding seven kills.
The Dawgs used a six-point run in the first set to take control of the match early against the Crimson Storm, relatively cruising to the opening-set victory. The second set told a different story. After SWOSU jumped ahead 10-6, SNU closed the frame on a 19-5 run, cruising to a dominant set-two win and evening the match.
It seemed as if the home team had found its rhythm in the third set, holding 17-13 and 21-18 leads over the Bulldogs. However, a late rally by the Dawgs, which included an unbelievable rally on set point, went SWOSU's way to put the Bulldogs back on top, 2-1.
SNU jumped out to another early lead in the fourth, going up 10-3, but short bursts by the Bulldogs helped them climb their way back into the match, eventually knotting things up at 16-16. From there, the Dawgs went on an 8-3 run to give themselves five match points, eventually winning it on the third opportunity.
Katja Blanchat continued her efficient start to the season, totaling 14 kills while hitting .619, tied for the fifth-highest single-match hitting percentage in program history. Blanchat currently holds the program record after hitting .750 earlier this season. Sydney Winfrey added 12 kills, including the match-winning kill, while committing no errors.
