DURANT, Okla. - In a Tuesday night matchup in the Great American Conference, the Northwestern Oklahoma State volleyball team traveled to Durant, Okla. to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State where the Savage Storm prevailed over the Rangers in straight sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-20).

The Black-and-Red struggled on offense this evening where they collectively hit .183 as a team. It was a rare night serving for Northwestern, recording just a single service ace. The Rangers have consistently served their way into several points per match this season so far, but the Savage Storm defense was ready for it this evening.

Only two Rangers found their way into double figures on kills in Durant as Brooklynn Hesson led the charge with 15, while Hannah Williams finished with 10 on the evening.

The Rangers and Savage Storm started off the match in a tight first set where neither team had more than a four-point lead until towards the end when SOSU started to pull away, taking a big 24-19 advantage.

However when Tobi Barker took the reigns on serve, Northwestern started a mini comeback, earning three straight points to crawl to within two, but a crushed ball by Arianna Baker of Southeastern ended the threat, handing the home team the first set victory, 25-22.

The teams battled early on in set two as well, but at 10-10, the Savage Storm started to take control again, going up by as many as five points on two separate occasions. 

Following a couple of much needed timeouts, the Rangers were able to right the ship and make a run to get back within a point at 22-21.

The rest of the second game went back-and-forth, but eventually ended up going to the hosts, 26-24, following a kill by Baker and a block at the net.

After the intermission, Northwestern came out and collected the first two points of the set, but saw the next seven go by way of the Storm who had their sights set on a fifth straight win.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the trend in the third set continued, going down by as many as eight points at 13-5. 

Northwestern tried to make a comeback in the final set, but the home team was just too strong this evening, holding the Rangers off, 25-20.

UP NEXT 
Still needing just one game to secure a spot in the GAC Championship tournament, the Rangers will travel to Shawnee, Okla. this Thursday evening where they will take the court with Oklahoma Baptist in a rematch.