BETHANY, Okla. – Less than 17 hours after defeating Oklahoma Baptist 3-1, the Ouachita Tigers lost a three-set match to the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm. Southern Nazarene took the match after defeating the Tigers 25-21, 25-21, 25-23.
Despite five ties in the first set, Ouachita (9-6, 4-3 GAC) never led, and Southern Nazarene's .372 attack percentage put the Crimson Storm ahead. The Tigers committed six attack errors in the set, while only forcing two errors from the Crimson Storm.
Kori Bullard dominated early in the match, recording eight kills in the first set.
The Tigers had only nine kills in the second set, while the Crimson Storm won with 15. In the middle of the second set, Ouachita took an 18-13 lead behind a 7-0 run. The run featured four attack errors, one service error and an error on a set by the Crimson Storm. Southern Nazarene (9-11, 5-2 GAC) immediately responded, however, with a 12-3 run, taking the second set and a 2-0 lead.
In the final set, Ouachita gained only two leads, but neither team was able to claim a lead of more than four points. The Tigers had an attack percentage of .306 in the set while holding Southern Nazarene to .294. The Crimson Storm won the match, however, behind a 6-1 run at the beginning of the set.
Ouachita finished with an attack percentage of only .207, compared to Southern Nazarene's .316 attack percentage. Bullard finished with a match-high 14 kills, followed by
Abby Pickett with 10 and
Stephanie Pollnow with eight.
Ashley Wake led all players with 17 digs in the contest, and
Jayme Shell had 13.
Stormi Leonard led Ouachita with 36 assists, and
Anna LeTourneau recorded two aces.
The Tigers will host Williams Baptist College on Monday, Oct. 12, in a non-conference match before returning to conference play on Friday, Oct. 16, against East Central. The match against Williams Baptist is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Sturgis Physical Education Center.
