From SOSU Sports Information
BETHANY, Okla. – Southeastern was unable to catch any breaks on Tuesday night as the Savage Storm dropped game two of the two-match season series with Southern Nazarene by a score of 3-0 in Bethany, Okla.
The loss drops SE to 2-13 overall on the year and 1-5 in Great American Conference play, while the Crimson Storm moves to 7-9 overall and 5-1 in league play.
Despite the 3-0 score, the Storm did continue to look as though it was building on the momentum of strong showings against the league’s top two teams over the weekend.
SE was tied or held the lead late in each of the first two sets, and nearly rallied from a 21-11 deficit in the third.
The momentum was aided by a near triple-double from setter Madelynne Cera who finished just one kill shy of the school’s first such accomplishment. She tallied nine kills in the match and added 19 assists along with 13 digs.
Megan Kunkel also added a double-double in the effort, picking up a team-leading 10 kills with 14 digs.
Emily Gentle and Ariel Sanders each added six kills in the contest.
In all, five players reached double-digit totals in digs, led by Kristin Martin who posted 18. Gentle added 15, followed by Kunkel’s 14, Cera’s 13 and Taylor Benner’s 12.
At the net, Natasha Smith picked up a pair of solo blocks, while Cera and Sanders each added one.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair, with the Storm falling behind 18-14. SE rallied and tied the match at 18-18, but SNU would score seven of the last 10 points to win the set 25-20.
Southeastern jumped out to an early lead in the second set and padded it to as much as 12-5 in the early going. SNU would use an 11-2 run however to erase the advantage and mount a 19-17 lead. SE would seize the lead back at 24-22, but four-straight points from the Crimson Storm would hand SE a 26-24 loss.
SNU would dominate much of the third set, storming out to a 21-11 lead. Southeastern would go on a 10-3 run to narrow the deficit to 24-21, but an SE attack error would end the comeback and the match at 25-21.
Southeastern will be back on the court for the Wasburn Regional Crossover Oct. 5-6, opening the event at 9:30 a.m. on Friday with Emporia State.
Matt Thomas is the Sports Information Director at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.