#20 Wayne State 3 Southern Nazarene 1

            Katie Stephens and Jaci Brahmer combined for 23 kills to lead #20 Wayne State College past Southern Nazarene Friday afternoon at the South Central Volleyball Classic in Durant, Oklahoma and hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma State.  Scores of the match were 25-14, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-16.  WSC is now 5-0 on the season while SNU falls to 2-3.
            The Wildcats never trailed in the opening set, taking a commanding 12-4 lead early to force a Southern Nazarene timeout.  WSC held SNU to just five kills in the set while forcing eight errors to take an easy 25-14 victory.
            The second set was much closer as Southern Nazarene built an early 9-6 lead.  Junior libero Haley Kauth then served six straight points for the Wildcats that included a service ace to put the 'Cats in front for good at 13-9. 
            After SNU got as close as two at 18-16, WSC used a Tarrin Beller kill and an attack error to regain a four point advantage and WSC finished with a 25-19 win in the set that saw the Wildcats force 10 SNU attack errors.
            WSC got down early in the third set, trailing 6-2, and could never recover as the Wildcats fell 25-20 to the Storm 25-20.
            The fourth set featured eight ties and four lead changes, but after a close battle early the Wildcats pulled away midway through the set to post a 25-16 win and take the match 3-1.
            Wayne State recorded a .274 attack percentage while limiting Southern Nazarene to .079.  WSC had 46 kills to 39 for SNU and held a 7-3 edge in blocks over the Storm.  Both teams served aggressively as SNU had eight aces and seven errors while WSC posted seven service aces and had nine errors.
            Stephens led WSC in hitting with 12 kills followed by Brahmer at 11 and Beller nine.  Junior libero Haley Kauth accounted for 14 digs while senior setter Megan Gebhardt had 32 set assists.  Gebhardt, Kauth and Morgan Alexander each produced two service aces for the 'Cats while Beller led WSC at the net with four blocks.
            Wayne State meets East Central (Okla.) at 5 p.m. in another match Friday afternoon at the South Central Classic.