Friendly VBall rivals meet in OKC

Lady Lions meet Southern Naz at 1pm

Best-of-five match broadcast on-line

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  --  Two teams who have enjoyed years of great competition, Southwestern Assemblies of God University and Southern Nazarene University, have let nothing come between them

SAGU has assembled a string of seven consecutive years with a winning mark during the regular season.

Southern Naz has been equally successful, enough that they have left the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to join the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II.

They are now members of the 11-team Great American Conference.

While both have gotten off to rare slow starts, SAGU is 1-5 and SNU is 0-4, the two friendly rivals will meet Saturday in Bethany, Oklahoma in a best of five match at 1:00pm (CST).

The red-clad Crimson Storm opened their season last weekend with four tournament matches in San Diego.

Fans can follow the match on-line as well as watch the action on livestream video.

Live Stats: http://livestats.snu.edu/volleyball/xlive.htm

Live Video: http://www.snuathletics.com/showcase/

Southwestern will soon welcome Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) back to the line-up. Along with Jessica Sodich (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian), the two are the heavy hitters for the Lady Lions.

Sodich is averaging 3.7 kills per game, and has hammered 82 to date. Cox is averaging 3.0 in the nine sets she has appeared. Sodich has played in all 22.

Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS), the senior leader, has gotten off to a very strong start with 69 kills, 3.1 per game. Sodich and Hudson are in the top six in the Red River Athletic Conference. Hudson is second in the league with 11 aces.

Junior setter Taylor Calverley (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) is fourth in the RRAC by making 8.8 assists per game.

Defensively, a staple under Head Coach Hank Moore, the top four players in digs are Brittany Briggs (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS) 3.8, Sodich 3.2, Emmalee Smith (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS) 2.8 and Hudson 2.6.

The Crimson Storm is coached by Kevin Ingram, a veteran on the sideline. Taylor Chase keys the attack with 8.4 sets per game, feeding Nicole Greenway (2.3 kills per gm), Jamie Hope (2.3) and Emilee Crawford (1.9).

SNU has enjoyed an edge over the Lady Lions in recent seasons, taking 5-of-6 since 2008, including the past three. SAGU thumped the Storm, 3-1, on the road in 2009.

Southwestern travels to northwest Arkansas next weekend for a tournament hosted by John Brown University. The Lady Lions, who play their first 11 matches on the road, have their home debut on Tuesday, September 18.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.