SE Opens Conference Play on the Road at Oklahoma Baptist

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State begins Great American Conference action on Tuesday, Sept. 17, against Oklahoma Baptist at 7 p.m. in the Noble Complex.
 
STORM WATCH
Southeastern picked up two wins at the Dr. Steve Aicinena "Iceman" Invitational, sweeping Sul Ross State and New Mexico Highlands. The Savage Storm's lone defeat came in five sets to the hosts, Texas-Permian Basin. Ruthie Forson and D'Nari Mills had another big weekend, earning All-Tournament honors for the second week in a row.
 
Forson recorded a double-double in all three matches and would finish the tournament with 95 assists, 39 digs and 22 kills on a .408 attack average. The Denton, Texas native has quickly racked up 224 assists to start the season and is averaging 8.30 per set. At the end of Forson's sets, Mills slammed down 46 kills over the weekend, averaging 4.18 per set on a .216 attack average. The Cypress, Texas native ranks second in the GAC in total kills (110) and leads the league with 4.07 kills per set.
 
The Storm put up a block party at the tournament with 23.0 total blocks across 11 sets, led by Mills and Michera Moffett, who each had 9.0 total blocks. Joining the pair, Maci Morrison recorded 8.0 denials and was one of six players with two or more blocks. Moffett leads the side at the net heading into the first conference match with 14.0 total blocks, followed closely by Mills and Morrison with 11.0 denials.
 
Patience Lewis featured in all 11 sets for the Storm at the Dr. Steve Aicinena "Iceman" Invitational and registered a team-high 47 digs. The junior from Pearland, Texas, leads the team with 84 digs and holds the highest receiving percentage (.978) for the blue-and-gold with just two errors. Southeastern is sixth in the GAC in team digs with 14.74 per set and has totaled 398 on the year.
 
Tuesday's contest will be the 21^st meeting between Southeastern and Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison lead the head-to-head series 18-2, while the Storm are looking for their first win against Oklahoma Baptist since 2016.
 
PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
Oklahoma Baptist was picked to defend its 2023 GAC Tournament title in the conference person poll early this year after receiving five first-place votes. The Bison have started the season 4-4, having faced three teams in the top 20, including then No. 11 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 20 West Florida and No. 18 Central Oklahoma.
 
The Bison recently hosted the 2024 OBU Fall Tournament and would finish 2-2 with wins over Cameron and McKendree. Jill Leslie finished the weekend with 41 kills and 9.0 total blocks in three matches. The middle blocker leads the side with 89 kills on a .397 attack percentage and also paces the team at the net with 18.0 total blocks.
 
On the back row, Karsyn Hunter leads the Bison with 140 digs and ranks third across the GAC with 4.83 digs per set. The junior recently posted back-to-back 20 dig contests against UT Tyler and McKendree and has reached double figures in all eight matches.
 
HOW TO WATCH
Oklahoma Baptist is partnered with Hudl TV for its live-streaming services. Fans looking to watch can visit https://team1sports.com/obubison/ and pay $10 for a single-day pass. For additional information, fans can visit this LINK.