HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Despite winning the first set against the second-seeded Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm, the Ouachita Tigers were defeated 3-1 in the first round of the 2015 Great American Conference Volleyball Championships - Presented by Subway on Thursday. Kori Bullard led the Tigers with 16 kills.
The first set featured five ties and three lead-changes until a kill by GAC Player of the Year Abby Pickett sparked a 5-2 run to give Ouachita (15-12, 8-8 GAC) a 18-15 lead. The Tigers were able to hold off any comebacks from Southern Nazarene (16-16, 11-5 GAC), and Pickett secured the set with a kill on the 25th point to give Ouachita a 25-21 win and a 1-0 lead.
Pickett recorded five of Ouachita's 14 kills in the set, as the Crimson Storm were limited to 13 kills and forced into seven attack errors.
Southern Nazarene recovered, however, to win the second set 25-19, as Ouachita was never able to hold a lead in the set. Midway through the set, after a Ouachita timeout, Kori Bullard recorded three consecutive kills for the Tigers, with Stormi Leonard assisting on all three. Despite the momentum shift, Southern Nazarene maintained its lead and never let the Tigers pull within three points.
The Crimson Storm committed only two attack errors in the set while forcing seven errors from Ouachita. Bullard finished the set with four kills and an assisted block, and Pickett added five kills again.
The third set was similar to the second, as Southern Nazarene took an early lead and never let it go. A 14-4 run to start the match for the Crimson Storm put the Tigers in a hole that they could not climb out of. A 5-1 run from Ouachita, led by Bullard in Julie Stanley, late in the set brought hope to the Tigers but SNU quickly responded with a kill by Kaitlyn Vought and a 25-19 win to take a 2-1 lead.
Bullard led Ouachita with four kills in the set, but the Tigers were only able to record a total nine kills and were forced into seven attack errors.
After a 10-minute intermission, the Tigers started the fourth set with a 6-1 run. Ouachita kept its lead until an 8-1 run for Southern Nazarene put the Crimson Storm ahead 12-9. Bullard then tied the set at 12-12 with back-to-back kills after a SNU attack error, but the Crimson Storm took the lead back once again with a 4-0 run. Southern Nazarene was able to keep its lead and eventually win the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.
Bullard had a team-high five kills in the final set for Ouachita, and Stanley followed with two. Ouachita committed only three attack errors in the entire fourth set but allowed a match-high 16 kills from the Crimson Storm.
Bullard finished with 16 kills, tying for second most in her two-year career. Pickett, the GAC-leader in kills, followed with 12 kills. Ashley Wake recorded a team-high 24 kills and Anna LeTourneau and Jayme Shell added 15 and 14, respectively. Leonard had 39 assists for the Tigers, to go along with nine digs.
The Tigers finish the season with a record of 15-12, their third consecutive winning season under head coach Danny Prescott.
