SE Volleyball Drop Opener in Five Sets

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern rallied in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth, but would come out on the short end of that final tally, falling to Central Oklahoma 3-2 in the season-opener on Friday night in the 2021 Southeastern Classic in Bloomer Sullivan Gymnasium.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 0-1 to open the season heading into a pair of matches to close out the Southeastern Classic on Saturday, first facing Emporia State at 11 a.m. before closing out the weekend against New Mexico Highlands at 3 p.m.
 
SE got a 19-kill performance from Skylor Lewis as she was the only Storm hitter to reach double figures, while Ruthie Forson added nine kills, followed by Mya Afflerbach, Jessie Steele, and Caroline Griffith with eight apiece.
 
Forson flirted with a triple double in the match, dishing out 48 assists and adding 11 digs to go with her nine kills.
 
Grace Shehadeh led the Storm back row with 24 digs, while McKenzie Turkoly also cracked the 20-dig mark and finished with 21.
 
Afflerbach, Griffith, and Jadyn James each posted two blocks to lead the way at the net.
 
The teams played a back-and-forth early run in the opening set, eventually fighting to a 15-15 tie. A balanced attack effort from Lewis, Afflerbach, Steele, and James who combined for 13 kills in the set would help propel the Storm to a 25-21 win in the opening set.
 
UCO would run out to an early lead in the second set, and despite a pair of rally efforts, SE was unable to close the gap in a 25-17 loss to event he match at 1-1.
 
The Bronchos used the same recipe in the third set, using a pair of runs to pull ahead early and hand the Storm a 25-15 loss in the set to fall behind 2-1.
 
The script changed in the fourth set as the teams jousted back-and-forth with the largest lead reaching three points.  The Storm did face a 19-17 late deficit, but would score three-straight points to take the lead. UCO would answer and the teams traded points all the way into bonus volleyball when SE scored the final two points to take the set 29-27 thanks to Lewis' nine-kill effort in the set.
 
After clawing to a 5-5 tie in the fifth set, the Bronchos would score three-straight and leave the Storm playing catch up. SE closed to within one point twice, but UCO would take six of the final seven points to take the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.