ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Despite a 2-1 lead after three sets, the Ouachita Tigers fell 3-2 to the Harding Lady Bisons on Thursday. The match was Ouachita's third straight five-set loss, as the Tigers fell to 6-6 in the Great American Conference.
Abby Pickett, a senior from Texarkana, Texas, surpassed 1,000 kills in her career at Ouachita during the match.
The match was a back-and-forth battle, in which neither team ever gained a lead of more than five. Harding (13-13, 7-5 GAC) was able to defeat the Tigers, however, with a .275 team attack percentage. Ouachita (12-9, 6-6 GAC) finished with a team attack percentage of only .221, and the Tigers committed four more attack errors.
After Harding took the first set, 25-22, the Tigers bounced back with a 25-22 win in the second set behind six kills from Pickett.
Stephanie Pollnow also played a heavy role, recording four kills on five attacks.
In the third set, Ouachita took the first lead and never gave it up until a kill by
Stormi Leonard gave the Tigers a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead. Pollnow led the way with four kills, and Ouachita posted a .323 attack percentage.
Ouachita jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in the fourth set, but a 6-2 run allowed the Lady Bisons to take a 10-9 lead. Harding eventually forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win, behind four blocks and eight Ouachita attack errors.
In the final set, a 5-0 run gave Harding a 6-2 lead, and Ouachita could never overcome the deficit, falling 15-12. Pickett had a set-high four kills, but three blocks and one service ace proved to be the difference.
The Tigers were led by Pickett, who had 17 kills in the match, followed by Pollnow with 14 kills and
Caitlin Cantrell with 13. Leonard had a career-high 52 assists in the five-set thriller, to go along with seven digs, three kills, two aces and two solo blocks.
Defensively, four Tigers finished in double-digits in digs, including
Ashley Wake with 19,
Anna LeTourneau with 16,
Nikki Clay with 15 and
Jayme Shell with 14.
The Tigers will take a break from conference-play with a match against Lyon College on Saturday, Oct. 31. The match in Batesville, Ark. is scheduled for 7 p.m.
