SE Tripped Up in Battle of Storms

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern snagged wins in sets two and three, but were unable to hold off the Southern Nazarene rally in a 3-2 loss on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Gym.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 6-20 overall and 4-9 in Great American Conference play heading into a 6 p.m. home matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State on Friday night.
 
Julia Benford led the way on offense with a team-best 17 kills, hitting .390 on the night and turning in her second-best kill total of the season.
 
Abby Jameson added 13 kills, while Arianna Baker chipped in nine and Maggie Benson and Jessica Baker pitched in seven each.
 
Alissa Benson finished the night with 47 assists, but added a big night defensively with 17 digs and five blocks.
 
It was a block party on defense as the Storm tallied 11 on the night and SNU added 10.
 
SE turned ion six solo blocks, led by Benford who had three solos and finished with five on the night.
 
Arianna Baker added a pair of solo blocks and finished with five as well, while Benson shipped in one solo in her five blocks.
 
On the back row Charlene Nerio picked up 25 digs to lead a group of five in double-digits.
 
She was joined by Alissa Benson at 17, Maggie Benson at 16, Kristi Carter at 12 and Jameson at 10.
 
SE fell behind after one set with the Crimson Storm using a 7-0 run to seize control of the set and pull away for a 25-18 win.
 
Southeastern bounced back in the second set, rallying from a 24-21 deficit by taking seven of the last nine points to take a 28-26 win and even the match at 1-1.
 
In the third set the Storm would play back-and-forth ball before using a 5-1 run late to mount a 24-19 lead and hang on for a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead.
 
SE jumped out to a 14-9 lead in the fourth set, but SNU would rally and the teams would eventually find themselves tied at 19-19.  The Crimson Storm would jump ahead 23-20 before the Savage Storm rallied and tied the game at 24-24.  However, SNU would take the final two points of the set to win 26-24 and force a fifth set.

Fifth sets have not been kind to SE this season having dropped the previous two, and the Storm would find themselves trailing 9-4 in this one.
 
A 5-1 rally closed the match to 10-9, but SNU would take the final five points to swipe the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.