Storm Bounce Back With 3-0 Win at SAU

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Caroline Griffith's 11 kills paced Southeastern to a 3-0 bounce-back victory over Southern Arkansas on Thursday night in a return to Great American Conference play in Magnolia, Ark.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 6-8 overall on the season and 3-3 in GAC play while also snapping a three-game losing skid heading into a Friday night matchup with Arkansas-Monticello at 6 p.m. on Oct. 8 in Monticello, Ark.
 
Griffith posted a match-high 11 kills and hit .625 in the process, committing just one error in her 16 attacks.
 
Skylor Lewis was next in line with nine kills, while Maya Afflerbach added six and Jadyn James chipped in five.
 
Ruthie Forson handed out 22 assists in the effort to trigger the offense while adding three kills and two aces on offense and chipping in four digs and two blocks on defense.
 
Lewis would lead the defense with 13 digs, while Grace Shehadeh was right behind with 10.
 
Afflerbach paced the net defense with three blocks, while Forson added two.
 
In the opening set, SE used an 8-2 run to erase a 9-7 deficit and mount a 15-11 lead. That lead would grow to as many as six points, but the Storm would have to hold off a late 6-2 Mulerider charge to hang on for the 25-22 win and a 1-0 lead.
 
The Storm used an early run in set two to take a lead, but it was a late 6-0 run that turned a three-point lead into a 23-14 edge.  SAU would create a scare for SE by answering with a 10-1 run to tie the match at 24-24 before back-to-back kills from James and Afflerbach would secure a 26-24 win and a 2-0 lead.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the third set it was the Storm who seized control of the match, reeling off eight-straight points as part of a 13-1 run, turning a one-point deficit into an 18-7 lead which would eventually become a 25-12 win in the clinching set.