HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers volleyball team 2016 season came to an end Friday in the semi-finals of the GAC Championships. The Tigers fell to Southern Nazarene in the three sets, 3-0 (21-25, 22-25, 20-25). The Tigers were led by Tabaha Huckabee's 13 kills. Ashley Wake and Jayme Shell finished with 17 digs each.

In the first set, the two teams exchanged points early. Southern Nazarene took a 4-3 lead and then rattled off five straight points to extend their lead and force Ouachita to take an early timeout. Down 11-3, the Tigers scored three straight on attack errors by Southern Nazarene. Behind kills from Tabatha Huckabee and a block by Caitlin Cantrell, the Tigers closed the gap to two, forcing the Crimson Storm to take a timeout leading 14-12. Out of the timeout, the Tigers tied the match on a block and a SNU attack error. Ouachita regained the lead at 17-15 on two set errors. With the set tied at 19-19, Southern Nazarene scored two straight and Ouachita took their second timeout, trailing 21-19. The Crimson Storm would take the first set 25-21. The first set featured eight tie scores and seven lead changes.

Down early again in the second set, the Tigers tied it at 5-5 on four straight points. With the set tied at 8-8, the Tigers scored three straight behind kills from Jayme Shell and Kori Bullard. Southern Nazarene took the first timeout of the set trailing the Tigers 11-8. Coming out of the timeout, the Crimson Storm scored three straight to tie it and took a 12-11 lead on a service ace, forcing the Tigers to take a timeout of their own. Neither team could claim a dominant lead in the set, but Southern Nazarene would hold a two-point lead through the final moments and take set two 25-22.

Trailing 8-6 in the third set, Ouachita went a 5-1 run capped off by a Bullard kill to take an 11-9 lead and force SNU to take a timeout. The Crimson Storm responded coming out of the break with five straight points to regain the lead and force the Tigers to take a timeout of their own. Back-to-back kills by Tabatha Huckabee tied the set again at 15-15. With the set tied 18-18, Southern Nazarene scored two consecutive points, forcing Ouachita to take its second timeout of the set. Southern Nazarene finished the set off with a 5-2 run to take the final set.

The Tigers finished the year 23-7 after advancing to the semi-finals of the conference tournament for the second time in four years.