Storm Look to Extend Win Streak at East Central

DURANT, Okla. – GAC play continues for Southeastern, as the Savage Storm head north to meet rivals East Central in a Thursday clash inside the Kerr Activities Center on September 25 at 6 p.m.
 
SERIES NOTES

• Last season, the Storm and Tigers met three times, and all three matches went the way of ECU with three wins by a score of 3-2. East Central has seen the more recent success in the series with nine straight wins over the blue and gold.
• Despite ECU's recent success, Southeastern leads the all-time series 19-17 and has fared well as the road team, with an 8-9 record when visiting the Kerr Activities Center.

 
STORM REPORT
Southeastern picked up its third consecutive sweep on Tuesday night with a 3-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State. The victory over the Rangers gave SE its first GAC win this season, improving the team to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The 3-0 win marks the fifth sweep this season for the Storm, who have only dropped one set across their six wins.
 
Gabby Jones had a big night for the Savage Storm, as she led the attack with 19 kills on a blistering .419 attack average. The Temple, Texas native's 19 kills are the most recorded by a player in the GAC in a three-set match this season and are tied for the sixth most in a match across the conference. The true freshman ranks second in the league with 3.55 kills per set for a team-high 135 kills.
 
Maci Morrison continues to be one of the most efficient attackers in the GAC, recording seven kills on a .467 attack average in the 3-0 win over NWOSU. The senior from Bandera, Texas,  has hit .400 or better in six matches this season for an attack average of .365, which ranks third-best in the league. With the help of Morrison's efforts, Southeastern has the fourth-best attack average among the GAC, attacking at a .219 clip with 12.92 kills per set.
 
Splitting the setting duties, Jasmin Dion and Riley McFarland dished out 39 assists on Tuesday, with Dion seeing 28 and McFarland tallying 11. Dion leads the Storm with 334 assists and is second in the conference with 8.79 assists per set, which ranks 10^th among freshmen across Division II. After missing the start of the season due to an injury, McFarland has featured in the last three matches for SE and has recorded 33 assists, including back-to-back double-digit assists contests.
 
SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
The Tigers (2-12, 1-1 GAC) enter Thursday's contest off the back of a 3-0 defeat at Southwestern Oklahoma State for their first conference loss this season. ECU will be looking to get back in the win column, having lost four straight matches. East Central's first conference win came at home in a 3-2 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State, which was its first and only home match so far.
 
The ECU attack is led by a pair of outside hitters, with freshman Jayla Buford pacing the side with 105 kills, while Peyton Spahn has 101. Another standout freshman for the Tigers is middle blocker Kensington White, who leads the team with 45.0 total blocks and ranks eighth in the GAC with 0.94 blocks per set. As a team, East Central is averaging 8.9 kills per set on a .107 attack percentage, and is averaging 15.0 digs per set.