DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State heads on the road for the final time this season as they take on Southern Nazarene on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Sawyer Center.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (12-14, 7-7) split last week's pair of matches after falling on the road at East Central in five sets, 3-2. Saturday's contest marked the eighth time the Savage Storm have gone five sets in a match and are just 2-6 when going the distance. SE's lucky number this season has been three, with seven of the team's 12 wins coming via the sweep. Southeastern is 7-3 in three-set matches compared to 5-11 in contests that go extra frames.
Ruthie Forson led the attacking efforts last time out with 15 kills and 35 assists and added 17 digs to her totals for her ninth triple-double this year, which ranks second in Division II. The Denton, Texas native is sixth in assists in the GAC with 8.73 per set and is seventh in hitting percentage, attacking at a .314 clip.
Michera Moffett also ranks in the Top 10 in attack percentage (.304) and is fourth on the team with 148 kills while leading the side with a season-high 87.0 total blocks.
The Storm remain seventh in the GAC standings with a two-match advantage over four teams tied for eighth at 5-9. Five teams have already locked up a spot in the GAC Tournament, and Southwestern Oklahoma State recently secured the 1-seed, while Harding earned the 2-seed. Oklahoma Baptist, East Central and Ouachita Baptist have also clinched a spot in the conference tournament.
Earlier this season, Southeastern defeated Southern Nazarene at home 3-1 in the first meeting. SE and SNU traded the first two sets before the Savage Storm won the next two to secure its third straight win over the Crimson Storm.
D'Nari Mills helped lead the attack with 19 kills, while
Noelia Rocha and
Maci Morrison combined for 17. Forson recorded a triple-double with 11 kills, 45 assists and 15 digs.
Tuesday's contest will be the 37
th meeting between Southeastern and Southern Nazarene. SNU leads the series 26-10, dating back to the first meeting in 2000. SE has struggled playing at the Sawyer Center, with three wins in its last 13 trips. However, the blue-and-gold picked up a 3-1 win on the road last season, behind 19 and 12 kills by Mills and Rocha, respectively.
PREVIEWING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
Like SE, Southern Nazarene (9-18, 5-9) split its slate of matches last week with a 3-1 win at Northwestern Oklahoma State and a 3-1 defeat at home to Oklahoma Baptist. SNU is in a four-way tie for eighth place in the GAC standings with Henderson State, Southern Arkansas, and Arkansas Tech.
Kate Wright led the attack for the Crimson Storm last week, recording 32 kills across eight sets. The freshman outside hitter paces the side with 2.92 kills per set on a .258 attack average and has double-digit kills in her last four contests. Providing a one-two punch with Wright is middle blocker Whitney Bowie, who is second on the team in kills 209 and is averaging 2.05 per set.
Southern Nazarene has a pair of blockers with over 50.0 total blocks for the season in Riley Richardson and Bowie. Richardson leads the team with 55.0 total denials, while Bowie paces the side with 15 solo blocks and has totaled 51.0. SNU is averaging 1.30 blocks per set and allowing opponent attacks to hit at a .239 clip.
