HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Southwestern Oklahoma State made history at the 2015 Great American Conference Volleyball Championships – Presented by Subway as the Bulldogs became the first No. 3 seed to advance to the title match with a 3-0 victory against No. 2 Southern Nazarene in Friday’s first semifinal match from Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
| GAC Volleyball Championships – Presented by Subway: Semifinal #1 |
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| #3 Southwestern Oklahoma State (21-11) |
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| #2 Southern Nazarene (16-17) |
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| OFFENSIVE LEADERS: |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State: |
Kayla Hebert: 31 assists, 7 kills, .400 attack percentage |
| Jill Green: 11 kills, .250 attack percentage |
| DeLayni Fine: 8 kills, .286 attack percentage |
| Southern Nazarene: |
Lexie Matthews: 7 kills, .353 attack percentage |
| McKenna Qualls: 10 kills |
| Elyse Berlin: 29 assists |
| DEFENSIVE LEADERS: |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State: |
Hebert: 15 digs |
| Kelsi Schmidtberger: 6 blocks |
| Carly Zak: 9 digs, 3 blocks |
| Southern Nazarene: |
Abbey Bell: 20 digs |
| Vought: 11 digs |
| Matthews 10 digs |
FIRST SET HIGHLIGHTS:
Southern Nazarene grabbed an early 12-6 advantage, but Southwestern Oklahoma State countered by rattling off eight of the next nine points to take its first lead of the contest. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 22-17 and won the set on a kill by Hebert. Green led the team with five kills while Hebert added 10 assists and seven digs. One day after setting the GAC Championship record for digs in a match, Abbey Bell opened with eight digs in the opening set.
SECOND SET HIGHLIGHTS:
The Bulldogs grabbed control of the second set early as they raced out to an 8-2 advantage. The Crimson Storm drew as close as two points once, but SWOSU’s .289 attack percentage proved too strong. Hebert collected four kills, hit .667, and added nine assists and four digs in the set. Green hit .429 and the Bulldogs, collectively, only committed three errors.
THIRD SET HIGHLIGHTS:
SWOSU put SNU in an immediate hole the final set as the Bulldogs opened with six consecutive points. The Crimson Storm worked the margin down to two, 14-12, before the Bulldogs responded with another six-point burst. Zak, off of a GAC Championship record-setting 24-kill performance on Thursday, sent the Bulldogs to the title game with a kill on the final point. She tallied five of her seven kills in the set and hit .625 in the process. SWOSU upped its attack percentage to .344 and finished the contest outhitting SNU, .218 to .139.
NOTABLES:
- * The Bulldogs became the first No. 3 seed to reach the finals of the GAC Volleyball Championships; No. 3 seeds had been 0-3 in GAC Championship semifinal matches
- * The Bulldogs became just the fourth lower seed to defeat a higher seed at the GAC Championships (4-29). Higher seeds had won the last 11 GAC Championship matches
- * SWOSU’s 21 wins match its combined win total for 2013 and 2014
- * The Bulldogs won two games at a conference Championship for the first time in program history
- * Southern Nazarene’s Abbey Bell averaged 7.71 digs for the GAC Championships
- * After collecting 10 blocks in their quarterfinal win, the Crimson Storm registered only three on Friday
WHAT’S NEXT:
Southwestern Oklahoma State will face the Arkansas Tech-Southern Arkansas winner at 2 p.m. on Saturday.