DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State meets the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers in the Bloomer Sullivan Gym on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. for the second showdown of the season.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (11-13, 6-6) ended its last round of matches 1-2, picking up a 3-1 win on the road Friday at UT-Dallas for its final non-conference match this season. With four contests remaining in the regular season, SE is seventh in the GAC standings with six wins and holds a one-match advantage over Henderson State, Arkansas Tech and Southern Nazarene, who are all tied for eighth.
SE ranks in the top half of the league in most of the attacking categories, as they rank fourth in hitting percentage (.213), fifth in kills (12.77 kps) and seventh in assists (11.32).
D'Nari Mills helps lead the way with 4.04 kills per set and ranks seventh in Division II with 380 total kills, while
Ruthie Forson is sixth in the GAC in assists with 8.70 per set and is second in DII with eight triple-doubles.
Noelia Rocha and
Michera Moffett also help the attacking efforts, ranking third and fourth on the team with 195 and 131 kills, respectively.
In the first meeting this season, Southeastern and Northwestern Oklahoma State battled for five sets, with the Rangers coming out on top after winning the final set 15-12. Forson recorded one of her eight triple-doubles this season in the defeat with 16 kills, 34 assists and 11 digs, while Mills notched a double-double with 18 kills and 22 digs. At the net, Moffett totaled a match-high 8.0 total blocks, and Forson would add another six.
The Rangers extended their win streak over the Storm to five with their most recent win. SE's last victory over NWOSU was at home in 2021 when the blue-and-gold won a five-set contest 3-2. In this series, the two sides have played each other close, with five of the last eight matches going five sets. The Ranges hold a slight edge in the all-time series 14-12 heading into the 27
th meeting.
PREVIEWING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
NWOSU lost to Southern Nazarene 3-1 on Monday and has dropped two of its last six GAC matches. The Rangers are tied for fifth in the conference standings with Ouachita Baptist at 7-6 and hold a one-match advantage over Southeastern.
The Rangers have troubled opposing attacks all season, as they lead the conference in blocks with 2.38 denials per set and have 228.0 total blocks as a team. Northwestern has two players in the Top 10 in blocking, led by Mariela Jimenez, who has 0.96 blocks per set and leads the team with 92.0 total blocks.
The Ranger's top attacker, Erika Asencio Soriano, led the team with 15 kills against SNU for her sixth straight double-figure kill outing. The senior outside hitter leads the side with 305 kills on the year and ranks eighth in the GAC with 3.28 kills per set. NWOSU is attacking at a .173 clip, which ranks tenth across the conference, and is 11
th in kills per set, averaging 11.15.
