SE Returns Home Thursday and Friday to Host Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern gets set to clash with Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist on October 16-17 inside Bloomer Sullivan Gym. SE and HSU get the slate going on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. before the Savage Storm and Tigers take the court at 4 p.m. on Friday.
 
SERIES NOTES

• SE and HSU face each other for the 24^th time on Thursday, as Henderson State leads the series 15-8. The Storm will be looking to snap a two-match skid against the Reddies, with their last win coming in a 3-2 win on the road in 2022.
• Friday marks the 17^th meeting between Southeastern and Ouachita, and the Tigers hold the slight edge in the series, 10-6.

 
STORM REPORT
Southeastern split its road trip to the Natural State last week, falling in five sets to Southern Arkansas in the first match before sweeping Arkansas-Monticello to bounce back. Friday's win for the Savage Storm pushed them 7-11 overall and was the second conference win of the season to put them at 2-5 in the GAC standings.
 
Riley McFarland set the tone for the SE attack during week, racking up 72 assists across 13 sets, including a career-high 33 versus Southern Arkansas, and provided a pair of kills. The Prosper, Texas native has quickly reached 100 assists in just ten matches, averaging 4.39 per set for 136 total assists. Splitting the setting duties with McFarland, Jasmin Dion dished out 43 assists over the three contests, as she continues to lead the side with 425, averaging 7.20 per frame.
 
Faith Kruebbe saw her two most productive matches so far this season against SAU and UAM, recording 24 kills and 5.0 total blocks. The senior right side hitter tallied a new career-high 13 kills against Southern Arkansas and later slammed down 11 more versus the Blossoms on a .235 attack average. The Carthage, Texas native ranks fifth on the team in kills with 76 and is averaging 1.38 per set.
 
Leading an attack with four players with 100 kills this season, Gabby Jones has registered a team-high 183 kills as a freshman in 18 matches. The Temple, Texas native recorded 28 kills for the Storm last week, with a pair of double-digit kill contests against Oklahoma Christian (11) and SAU (13) to give eight 10-kill matches this season. Southeastern heads into the week averaging 12.4 kills per set on a .191 attack average, led by Jones' 3.10 kills per frame.
 
SCOUTING HENDERSON STATE
Henderson State enters Thursday's match against the Storm 3-4 in the GAC and 11-10 overall. The Reddies split last week's round of matches, earning a 3-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State before later seeing a 3-2 defeat to Southwestern Oklahoma State.
 
The Reddies are led by one of Division II's best outside hitters in Katilyn Steffes, who ranks in the top ten in kills per set (4.48) and leads all DII in total kills with 318. Steffes has reached double-figure kills in all but one match this season and has four 20-kill contests, including a high of 29 set against SWOSU most recently. Additionally, HSU's Kaylon Partain ranks first in DII in digs with 458 and is second in digs per set with 5.87.
 
SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
The Tigers have been on a roll in 2025, as they remain the only unbeaten team in GAC play this season with a 7-0 mark. In conference play, Ouachita Baptist has dropped just four sets, while picking up three sweeps, including one over Harding. The preseason favorites enter their Thursday meeting with East Central on a seven-match win streak, sitting 17-3 overall.
 
The Ouachita attack features one of the top setters in the conference, as Courtney Hanson makes the Tigers go with 652 assists. Hanson, who was recently named GAC Setter of the Week for the 10^th time in her career, dished out 101 assists in three wins last week, including a high of 45 against NWOSU. Finding the end of Hanson's sets is the Tigers' leading attacker, Kailey Thedford, with 216 kills, and she is averaging 3.18 per set.