DURANT, Okla. – The Southeastern volleyball program heads to Las Vegas, N.M., on September 4
th and 5
th to square off in the Meadow City Classic.
SE opens play with two matches on Friday, Sept. 4, beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT (11:30 a.m. MT) against Western New Mexico, followed by Eastern New Mexico later that day at 5:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. MT). The Storm round out play on Saturday versus Northwestern Oklahoma State at 10 a.m. CT (9 a.m. MT) and New Mexico Highlands at 3 p.m. CT (2 p.m. MT).
SERIES NOTES
- SE and Western New Mexico are set for the second all-time meeting after last facing each other in 2023. The Mustangs got the better of the Storm in that contest, winning 3-2.
- The blue and gold lead the series against Eastern New Mexico 6-4 and are set for the first meeting since 2022.
- In a rare out-of-conference matchup, SE and Northwestern Oklahoma State square off in the 30th all-time meeting. Southeastern has won the last three contests against the Rangers to hold a one-match edge in the series, 15-14.
- Southeastern and NMH meet for the seventh time on Saturday, with SE leading the series 4-2. The Storm won the last time the two sides shared the court, defeating the Cowgirls 3-0 in 2024 at the UT-Permian Basin Tournament.
STORM REPORT
Southeastern went 2-2 at the Southern Invitational, picking up a pair of wins in its first two matches, defeating Missouri Southern 3-1 and sweeping Northeastern State 3-0. The Storm would see back-to-back five-set defeats to Southwest Baptist and Missouri S&T to conclude the tournament.
Rylee Jackson and
Gabby Jones led the Storm attack with a one-two punch at the Southern Invitational. Jackson was an instant impact for the blue and gold in the first weekend of the season, slamming down 60 kills across the four matches, including a high of 19 in the 3-1 win against MSSU. Jones picked up where she left off in 2025, racking up 55 kills and adding 59 digs to her totals, while picking up three doubles-doubles to earn All-Tournament honors at the Southern Invite.
Helping set the tone for an SE attack that totaled 197 kills,
Jasmin Dion averaged 8.76 assists at the Southern Invite to total 149 assists. The sophomore setter is tied for 25
th in Division II after the opening weekend of play in assists and ranks fourth in the GAC. As a team, Southeastern ranks in the top five in total assists and kills across the conference, having recorded 180 assists and 197 kills, which rank fourth and fifth best, respectively.
Patience Lewis led the Storm defensively with 3.82 digs per set, totaling 65 digs. Lewis closed out the Southern Invite with back-to-back matches with 20 digs, recording 21 digs against Southwest Baptist and Missouri S&T. At the net, SE has three players in double-digit blocks, led by
Nykeriah Allen with 13.0 total blocks, while
Anger Ngeth and
Sophee Dean have 12.0 and 10.0 denials, respectively.
SCOUTING WESTERN NEW MEXICO
WBNU opened its season at the U Mary Volleyball Invitational and went 1-3, defeating Mary 3-1 in the final match of the tournament. Daphne Posthumus led the Mustangs in the opening weekend, tallying a team-high 46 kills and 29.0 total blocks. Brynlee Barris also had a hand in the offensive and defensive efforts with 35 kills on a .333 attack average and added 17.0 blocks to her total, including five solo denials.
SCOUTING EASTERN NEW MEXICO
Eastern New Mexico kicked off its season with a 1-3 record at the FHSU Tigers Invite, with its lone win coming against Truman State, 3-1. Sophia Valdez was the standout attacker for the Greyhounds in their first four matches, recording 59 kills and totaling 62.5 points. Defensively, Jordan Garcia paced the back row with 68 digs, while Amaya Speller chipped in 18.0 blocks in addition to her 48 kills.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
NWOSU enters the Meadow City Classic 2-3 after picking up a midweek win over McPherson College 3-0. The Rangers opened the year at the Southern Invitational, like the Storm, and went 1-3 with a 3-0 win versus Northeastern State on the final day. Pacing the NWOSU attack is a one-two punch that features Tess De Zanet with 48 kills and Ivanny Blackwood with 45 kills. Blackwood is attacking at a .337 clip, while De Zanet is averaging a team-high 2.82 kills per set.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowgirls, after a slow start at the Virginia Harris/Jeanie Miller Invitational, got their first win of the season in the final match in a 3-0 win over Sul Ross State. The NMH attack starts with setters Marissa Sandoval-Moya and Catilin Hurley, who combined to pass around 83 assists in the Cowgirls' first four matches. In four matches, the Cowgirls tallied 122 kills and are averaging 10.17 per set, led by Aziza Morris with 33 kills and a .165 attack average.
