Southeastern Volleyball Heads to Edmond for the MIAA/GAC Crossover

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State looks to extend its win streak this weekend at the MIAA/GAC Crossover in Edmond, Okla., on Sept. 20 and 21.
 
The Savage Storm will play two matches, beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Arkansas-Fort Smith and then on Saturday at 3 p.m. versus the hosts, No. 15 Central Oklahoma.
 
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (4-4, 1-0) battled back and forth with Oklahoma Baptist in Tuesday's five-set thriller, and it would be the Storm who came out on top 3-2 for its first win against the Bison since 2016. SE has now won three consecutive matches and four of its last five contests. 
 
A career night for libero Patience Lewis saw the junior record the second most digs by an SE player in a match and the most across five sets, recording 42 digs and surpassing her previous career-high 28 digs set last season against Black Hills State. Lewis ranks seventh in the GAC with 3.94 digs per set and 126 total.
 
D'Nari Mills ranks ninth across all Division II with 131 kills and leads the GAC with 4.09 per set. The Cypress, Texas native recorded 21 kills in the win over OBU and added 12 digs for her fifth double-double this year. Mills is tied for seventh all-time in kills for SE with 978 and will have a chance this weekend to become the fifth player in program history to reach 1000 career kills.
 
Setting the tone in attack, Ruthie Forson dished out 39 assists, 13 kills and 20 digs for her second triple-double this season. The Denton, Texas native leads the team with 8.22 assists per set, which ranks sixth among GAC players, and has provided 263 assists and 61 kills. Michera Moffett notched eight kills in the win and added another 4.0 total blocks to her totals to continue to pace the side with 18.0 denials on the year.
 
Heading into the weekend slate, Southeastern faces a pair of familiar foes, as they meet Arkansas-Fort Smith for the seventh time and first time since 2017. SE and Central Oklahoma take the court for the 18^th time and the second meeting in two years.
 
PREVIEWING ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH
The Lions are off to a 5-2 start to begin its 2024 season after going 3-1 at the Denton Volleyfest with wins over Henderson State, Texas Woman's and Midwestern State. Arkansas-Fort Smith's lone loss at the weekend came at the hands of Colorado Christian in a 3-1 defeat.
 
UAFS has two players with 50 or more kills through seven matches, led by Nyia Anderson with 96 kills and Morgan Creer with 51. Anderson saw double-digit kills in all but one match at the weekend tournament and added 62 digs to her totals. Brooke Rifkin leads the Lions in digs with 105 and holds a .922 receiving percentage with eight errors in 102 attempts.
 
PREVIEWING NO. 15 CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
The Bronchos check in at No.15 in the latest AVCA poll following a 4-0 weekend at the Flagler Saints Classic, highlighted by a sweep of (RV) Nova Southeastern. UCO has improved to 9-0 on the year, having dropped just four sets all season.
 
Jenna Karp has been a standout player for the Bronchos in the early parts of the season, leading the team with 103 kills on a .497 attack percentage and has 27.0 total blocks. The senior middle blocker racked up 49 kills and 9.0 total blocks at the Flagler Saints Classic. Joining Karp with 20.0 blocks is outside hitter Mikaela Garvin, who has notched 21.0 denials after seeing 9.0 at the weekend.
 
MATCH DAY INFORMATION
For those attending this weekend's MIAA/GAC crossover, Central Oklahoma has a clear bag policy for all home events. Per UCO: Clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags can be no larger than 12" x 6" x 12". Non-transparent clutch purses are allowed and can be no larger than 4.5" x 6.5". For more information, visit http://centralconnection.org/gameday.  
 
HOW TO WATCH
UCO and the MIAA Network are partnered with Hudl TV for its live-streaming services. Fans wanting to watch the broadcast can purchase an individual pass for $15 by logging into or creating a Hudl TV account using this LINK.