Volleyball Snaps Skid with 3-0 Win

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern got a big afternoon from Julia Benford and snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday afternoon in Bloomer Sullivan Gymnasium.
 
The win lifts SE to 5-19 on the year and 3-8 in Great American Conference play heading into an Oct. 29 road trip to Southwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in Weatherford, Okla.
 
The Storm took the first set 25-21 and rallied to take the second set 26-24 before blowing the doors off the Cotton Blossoms in the third set 25-8.
 
Benford turned in a season-best 22 kills and hit .645 for the match with just two errors across from her 22 kills on 31 total attempts.
 
Abby Jameson added 13 kills and hit .321 for the match, while Arianna Baker chipped in eight and hit .353.
 
The Storm hit .312 as a team for the match thanks in large part to a .448 percentage in the third set with 15 kills and just two errors.
 
Alissa Benson dished out a match-high 40 assists, her best effort in a three-set match this season.  She also added 12 digs and a pair of kills.
 
Charlene Nerio turned in 15 digs to lead the defense for SE, with Benson's 12 next in line, while Jameson just missed a double-double with nine.
 
At the net, Benford and Kristina Bergman each posted three blocks.
 
SE fell behind 4-1 out of the gate in the first set, but quickly rallied to knot the score at 5-5.  UAM would take the next three points and hold the lead until the Storm used a 9-1 run to open up a 19-14 lead.
 
The Blossoms would close the gap to 23-21, but a pair of Jameson kills would end the set with a 25-21 win.
 
UAM would take an early lead in set two before the Storm used a 7-2 run to take a 12-9 lead.  UAM would sue a five-point run of its own to regain the lead at 19-18, but the Storm took four of the next five points and led 22-20.
 
The Blossoms would then go on a 4-0 run to go on set point, but four-straight Storm points, two by Jameson, one from and error and the final point on an Erika Costain kill, would give SE the set 26-24 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Southeastern jumped to a 6-1 lead out of the gate in the third set, but it was a 10-0 run with Nerio serving that opened up a 16-3 lead for the Storm.
 
UAM would take a point, and from then on the Storm would outscore the Blossoms 9-4, with Benford kills collecting eight of the nine points, including the match-winner.