OKLAHOMA CITY (March 13, 2021) – Add another classic to the long list of fierce competitions between Oklahoma Christian and Southern Nazarene – and if this is what the OC-SNU rivalry will look like in volleyball, it should be fun.

In about as even a match as possible, Oklahoma Christian hung on and pulled away to win the decisive fifth set, capping a 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-7) win in the Eagles' Nest on Saturday afternoon. Allyssa Hamlin and Caitlynne Hudgens each had 15 kills for the Eagles, with Hamlin posting a strong .317 attack percentage.

It was the first volleyball match between OC (6-10) and SNU (3-5) since OC dropped the sport after the fall 1983 season. OC's young squad – with only four non-freshmen on the roster – now is 2-0 against Great American Conference foes, having also won at Southwestern Oklahoma State in the season opener.

The Crimson Storm won three of the final four points of the fourth set to push the match to a fifth set. It was OC's seventh fifth-setter of the season and the Eagles apparently have learned what to do when a match is extended to its full length.

"We have played more fifth sets than anybody in our conference," OC coach Barry Wheeler said. "It could be a byproduct of being competitive. We could lose in three or four, but yet we stay on and keep pushing. Today, it came down to who could get the job done at the end of the game and it was a chess match. … It was a good time. It was fun."

The Eagles rolled off six straight points early in the set and led 7-3 after Brylie Berryman delivered an ace. After SNU won the next point, OC took the next three and led 10-4 after consecutive attack errors by the Crimson Storm.

SNU pulled within 10-6 but kills by Lily Saenz and Jessica Souza and an ace by Alexandra Aponte Torres highlighted a match-clinching 5-1 run by the Eagles. OC sealed the win when SNU's Shantalle Demirjian was called for an attack error, the Crimson Storm's seventh of the set – compared to none for the Eagles.

Spencer Plato (24) and Souza (21) both posted high assist numbers for OC and both also served two aces. Four Eagles reached double figures in digs – Berryman (27), Hamlin (16), Plato (11) and Hudgens (10).

"Being as young as we are, and you watch them play, and they just keep the ball alive and try to figure out a way to get it over the net if we don't have a good swing and then get back for defense," Wheeler said. "We definitely are a rally-type team. That makes it fun to watch from a spectator standpoint. From a coaching standpoint, it's like, 'Holy cow!'"

SNU had four players post double-figure kills, led by Meagan Ellis, who had 23 to go with 17 digs. Breckynn Myers had a whopping 48 assists and 17 digs for the Crimson Storm.

OC has one regular-season match remaining, a nonconference tilt at another GAC school, Northwestern Oklahoma State, on Thursday. The Eagles already have qualified for the Lone Star Conference tournament, which will begin April 23. OC will play either Texas A&M-Commerce or Texas Woman's in the first round in Kingsville, Texas.