SE Downs SWOSU to Sweep Season Series

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southeastern picked up its second-straight win and in the process completed a season sweep of Southwestern Oklahoma State with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night in Weatherford, Okla.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 6-19 overall and 4-8 in Great American Conference play, giving SE a two game lead over Henderson State for the No. 8 seed in the GAC Tournament with four games to play.
 
Southeastern jumped to a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win in the first set and a 25-22 win in the second.  SWOSU would take the third set 25-16, but the Storm would close out the victory with a 25-23 win in the fourth and final set.
 
Abby Jameson tallied 15 kills on the night and picked up a double-double by adding 12 digs.
 
Julia Benford turned in her second-straight double-digit kill outing, and the ninth in her last 12 games, finishing with 13 kills while pitching in a team-best three blocks.
 
Arianna Baker and Jessica Baker each posted nine kills, while Maggie Benson shipped in eight.
 
Alissa Benson guided the offense with 43 assists on the night while adding three kills, a pair of blocks and 18 digs.
 
The Storm defense was busy, tallying 88 digs in the match over four sets, led by Charlene Nerio's first 30-dig performance as she finished with a career-best 31.
 
Alissa Benson's 18 digs was next in line, while Maggie Benson added 14 followed by Jameson's 12.
 
At the net, Benford put up three blocks, while Alissa Benson added two.
 
Southeastern fell behind 5-0 to open the match, but would battle back to make the match even until a late 11-2 run would put the Storm ahead 24-15 and they would hold on for a 25-19 win.
 
It was SE who got out to the quick start in the second set, taking a 6-1 lead out of the gate before SWOSU clawed its way back, eventually tying the match at 19-19.  The Bulldogs would then pull ahead by a 22-21 margin before the Storm scored the final four points in the set to win 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead.
 
The teams traded early runs in the third set, with SE taking an 11-7 lead before SWOSU scored 18 of the final 23 points to hand Southeastern a 25-16 loss and close the match lead to 2-1.
 
In the fourth set the Bulldogs would get the advantage early and open up a 14-11 lead, but a 6-2 spread by the Storm would give SE an 18-17 lead.
 
The teams would trade points before SWOSU would take four of five points in a run that put them up 23-21. The Storm would again close out the set with four-straight points and a kill by Benford would seal the 3-1 win for SE.