Volleyball Travels to Alva to Face NWOSU Thursday

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern begins a two-match road stretch at Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Percefull Fieldhouse.
 
SERIES NOTES

• SE and NWOSU met early this season in an out-of-conference match that went five sets, and the Rangers would edge out the Storm in that contest 3-2. Southeastern did get the better of Northwestern last season, sweeping the Rangers in both GAC contests.
• Heading into the 31st meeting, the all-time series is tied 15-15, with SE holding a 9-5 record at home and a 6-9 mark as the road team. 

 
STORM REPORT
Southeastern suffered its second GAC defeat of the season on Tuesday, falling to East Central 3-1. SE battled back to win the second set after going down one, but the Tigers secured back-to-back set wins in the third and fourth to take the match. The Storm enter Thursday with a 5-8 overall record and a 0-2 GAC record.
 
The Storm feature a one-two punch in attack, led by attackers Gabby Jones and Rylee Jackson. The pair have each eclipsed 120 kills this season, paced by Jones with 142 kills and 2.96 kills per set, while Jackson has totaled 122 kills and is averaging 2.44 per set. Backing the pair in attack, Nykeriah Allen has reached double-digit kills in three of her last four matches, including 12 against ECU, and is fourth on the team with 87 kills this season.

SE ranks eighth in the league in kills with 11.52 per set and averages 14.38 points per frame. The Storm are attacking at a .196 clip as a team with 611 kills slammed down and have 528 assists behind the effort of Jasmin Dion, who leads the side with 432. In addition to her offensive duties, Dion has recorded 98 digs this season to help a Savage Storm team that is seeing 14.5 digs per set.
 
Defensively, Allen leads the charge at the front with team-high 40.0 total blocks, having racked up 12 solo denials and 28 block assists. The Lewisville, Texas native helps lead a team that is averaging 1.6 blocks per set, while Allen is averaging 0.80 denials per frame. On the back row, Patience Lewis reached 211 digs on the year following a 20-dig contest against ECU and leads the team with 4.22 digs per set, which ranks ninth-best in the GAC.
  
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
Northwestern Oklahoma State heads into Thursday with a 7-7 overall record and a 1-1 GAC mark off the back of a 3-1 defeat at Southern Nazarene. The Rangers had won three of their last four matches before Tuesday, including a 3-1 home win over East Central in their conference opener.
 
NWOSU has leaned on right-side hitter Tess De Zanet to provide a punch in attack and defense, as the senior leads the team in kills with 139 and is second in blocks with 40.0. De Zanet is attacking at a .175 clip and averaging 2.84 kills per set, and has served the second-most aces on the team with 10. Libero Jadyn Padilla ranks seventh in the GAC in digs with 4.27 per set for 209 digs this season, while Kemelly Baez Miecznikoski is fourth in the blocks with 0.98 per frame.