Storm Set to Battle Rivals ECU Tuesday Night

DURANT, Okla. – After spending the last two weeks on the road, Southeastern returns to Bloomer Sullivan Gym on Tuesday, November 4, for a clash with rivals East Central in the second meeting this season. First serve between the Savage Storm and Tigers is set for 6 p.m.
 
SERIES NOTES

• ECU won the first meeting this season with a 3-0 win at home over the blue and gold. The Tigers have won the last 10 matches between the two sides, and they lead the all-time series 20-17.
• The last win for Southeastern over its rivals was back during the 2020 season, when the Storm went to Ada and defeated the Tigers 3-2. SE is 11-6 all-time against East Central at home and will be eyeing its first home victory since 2019.

 
STORM REPORT
Southeastern will be looking to bounce back after suffering a 3-0 defeat at Oklahoma Baptist last time out. Following the loss, the Storm fell 7-17 overall and 2-10 in the GAC standings with four matches remaining.
 
The attack has run through Jasmin Dion over the last four matches, as she has tallied 20 or more assists in each contest over this stretch. The freshman passed around 23 assists versus the Bison most recently, bringing her to 548 on the year. Dion leads the team with 7.03 assists per set and has shared the setting duties at times with Riley McFarland this season, who is seeing 5.03 assists per set.  
 
Finding the end of Dion and McFarland's sets has been Noelia Rocha, Maci Morrison and Alexis Williams. Rocha leads the team with 178 kills and is averaging 2.23 per set, while Morrison and Williams are seeing 1.99 and 1.96 per set, respectively. Both Morrison and Williams are attacking at a high clip this season, as Morrison leads the team with a .318 attack average and Williams is attacking at a .275 mark.
 
Defensively, Merrick Hammel continues to help lead the back row of the Storm lineup after leading the team with 11 digs against Oklahoma Baptist. Hammel has tallied 64 digs over her last three matches, which brings her totals to 175 digs and 3.37 digs per set. As a team, Southeastern ranks in the top half of the league in digs, averaging 17.8 digs per set.
 
SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
East Central comes into Tuesday off the back of three straight conference defeats after falling on the road to Northwestern Oklahoma State 3-1. The Tigers currently sit seventh in the GAC standings at 5-7 and are 8-18 overall. ECU has struggled this season away from home with just one win in 11 matches.
 
The Tigers are one of the top teams in the conference at the service line, as they rank fourth with 1.70 aces per set with 156 total aces. ECU has five players with 20 service aces this season, and is led by Kensington White with 25. In addition, White is also the team's leading blocker with 81.0 total blocks and is averaging 0.89 denials per set – that ranks seventh-best individually in the GAC.