DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern opened Saturday of the South Central Classic by winning its third-straight game, this one 3-0 over Texas A&M-International, but finished the day with a 3-0 loss to Central Oklahoma.
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The Savage Storm clear the opening weekend with a 3-1 record and will be on the road for the first time Sept. 9-10 when they head to Wichita Falls, Texas, for the MSU Hampton Inn-Vitational.
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Karine Cavalcante led SE in the first match on offense with 11 kills, while
Arianna Baker,
Abby Jameson and
Julia Benford each added seven kills as the team held a 38-to-26 edge in kills and hit .370 for the match as a team.
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Cavalcante added five aces in the match as SE piled up 10 over the three sets.
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Alissa Benson dished out 31 assists and added a pair of kills and a pair of digs.
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Defensively,
Caitlin Cosby picked up a match-high 19 digs, while Benford and Baker added a pair of blocks each.
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The Storm broke a 16-16 tie in the first set by scoring the final nine points for a 25-16 win.
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After jumping to a big lead early in the second set SE held off a late charge by the Dustdevils and picked up a 25-18 win.
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Southeastern used a 9-1 run mid-set and an 8-1 run to end the set to cruise to a 25-10 win in the final set.
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In the tourney finale it was Jameson who led the charge with 12 kills, while Erica Costain added eight, Cavalcante seven and
Lari Robertson pitched in six.
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Benson dished out 35 assists in the effort while adding eight digs and a kill.
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Cosby picked up 14 digs on the back row, while Jameson and
Kristi Carter each added 11.
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Benson and Baker combined on the team's lone block.
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The Storm jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the opening set, but were unable to hold off a UCO charge as the match went extra points and SE fell 27-25.
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The Bronchos took control of the second set early and would pull away for a 25-15 win.
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The third set was back-and-forth with the Storm rebounding and tying the score at 23-23 and going on to force and extra point, but ultimately fell 26-24 in the final set.
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