DURANT, Okla. – Following ten straight matches away from home, Southeastern Oklahoma State returns to the Bloomer Sullivan Gym for its home opener against rivals East Central on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern (4-6, 1-0) will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday after falling to Arkansas-Fort Smith and No. 15 Central Oklahoma at the MIAA/GAC Crossover at the weekend.
The SE attack finished the tournament with 68 kills in six sets, with
D'Nari Mills leading the way with 20 kills. Southeastern ranks sixth in kills across the GAC with 11.89 kills per set in 38 frames, led by Mills with 3.97 kills per set and 151 total. In just three seasons, the Denton, Texas native has quickly racked up 998 career kills and needs just two more to become the fifth player for the program to reach 1000 kills.
Helping lead the attack,
Noelia Rocha is second on the team in kills with 82, having seen 16 over the weekend, while
Ruthie Forson quarterbacks the offense with a team-high 308 assists. Forson sits at 2736 career assists after recording 84 across the three matches last week and needs just 29 more to move into the top two all-time leaders in assists for the Southeastern volleyball program.
Patience Lewis ended the week with 76 digs, recording 19 against Arkansas-Fort Smith and 15 versus No. 15 Central Oklahoma. The Pearland, Texas native paces the side with 160 digs and is one of three players with 100 digs, followed by Mills and Forson with 108 and 103, respectively.
Maci Morrison led the defense at the net over the week, registering 9.0 total blocks, including four solo denials. The junior from Bandera, Texas, leads the team with 20.0 total blocks and is averaging 0.54 blocks per set.
Heading into the 33
rd meeting between Southeastern and East Central, the Storm lead the head-to-head series 19-14, but the Tigers have seen more of the recent success, having won the last six contests. Under the home lights of the Bloomer Sullivan Gym, Southeastern holds an 11-5 record against ECU but is looking for its first home win over the Tigers since 2019.
PREVIEWING EAST CENTRAL
East Central recently went 1-2 at the MIAA/GAC Crossover after defeating Newman University 3-0 on the final day. The Tigers hold a 6-6 overall mark and are 0-1 to start conference play following a 3-0 defeat on the road at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
ECU has a pair of attackers with 100 or more kills this season, led by Odalys Gonzalez and Emma Strickland, with 140 and 121 kills, respectively. Gonzalez paced the Tigers in last week's slate of matches with 28 kills, including a high of 12 against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Strickland was right behind with 27 after seeing 13 kills in the defeat at NWOSU.
Defensively, East Central ranks in the top half of the league in opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to a .192 attack average. Part of the success on defense for the Tigers comes from middle blocker Angle Nahinu, who leads the team with 25.0 total blocks. When Strickland is not slamming down kills, she paces the side with 132 digs and is one of four players with 100 or more for the Tigers.
