DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State begins its swing of Arkansas foes in GAC action with Harding and Arkansas Tech at home on Oct. 11 and 12. The Savage Storm will face the Lady Bisons on Friday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. before taking on the Golden Suns on Saturday at 2 p.m.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern picked up a 3-1 win on the road over Austin College Wednesday night, as
D'Nari Mills and
Noelia Rocha helped the Storm to victory with 19 and 12 kills, respectively. The two sides were even after the first two frames, and SE would win two back-and-forth sets in the third and fourth, including a 26-24 set three to secure the victory.
Double-double machine Mills added 17 digs to her totals against the Kangaroos for her 11
th double-double this season and fifth in consecutive matches. The Cypress, Texas native returns to the top of the leaderboard in kills across the GAC after her 19-kill performance with 3.88 per set for 233 on the year. Over the last three matches, Mills has averaged 17 kills per contest and 19 digs per match.
Patience Lewis eclipsed 300 digs on the season for the first time in three years as a member of the SE program. The Pearland, Texas native tallied 25 in the win at Austin College to bring her season totals to a team-high 308. Lewis remains third in digs in the GAC with 5.13 per set and has averaged 30 digs per contest over the last five matches.
In the 27
th meeting between Southeastern and Harding, the Lady Bisons lead the series 23-3 after the two sides split a pair of matches last season. SE got the better of HU in the regular season with a 3-1 victory on the road before the Lady Bisons got revenge in the first round of the GAC Tournament, winning 3-0.
Southeastern and Arkansas Tech head into the 20
th all-time matchup on Saturday, as the Storm trail the Golden Suns 3-16 in the series. Last season, SE snapped a ten-match losing streak to ATU dating back to 2014 with a 3-2 win on the road. Mills registered 23 kills and 21 digs in that contest, while
Ruthie Forson had 44 assists, 12 kills and ten digs.
PREVIEWING HARDING
Harding sits atop the league standings through the first five GAC matches with a 5-0 league record and is 12-5 overall, having won its last seven contests. Last week, the Lady Bisons took care of Southern Arkansas in straight sets at home before defeating Arkansas-Monticello in four on the road.
Skyler McKinnon leads the attacking efforts for HU with 3.46 per set and is one of four players in the league this season to reach 200 kills. The Trophy Club, Texas native, tallied 33 kills on a .362 attack percentage over Harding's last two matches and holds a .215 attacking clip for the season. As a unit, the Lady Bisons lead the GAC in points (17.73 per set), assists (13.05 aps) and kills (14.06), and are second in attack percentage (.233).
PREVIEWING ARKANSAS TECH
The Golden Suns have already surpassed their wins total from last year in league play with a 3-2 GAC record. ATU is looking to get back in the win column in conference action, having lost its last two GAC matches against Harding and Ouachita Baptist. Tech's three GAC wins this season have come against Henderson State, UAM and SAU.
ATU has been lethal from the service line this season, as they lead the league with 1.95 aces per set and have a total of 121 on the year, which is 14 more than the second-place team. Jamie Myrick ranks second individually in the GAC with .48 aces per set and has totaled the most across the league with 30. Myrick is also fifth in digs with 4.81 per set and paces the ATU lineup with 298 total digs.
