ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita volleyball team begins the 2018 campaign with a trip to the Yellowhammer state to participate in the University of Alabama Huntsville Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

"Our girls are excited to play somebody besides themselves so I am ready to see how we all connect and begin to grow as a team on the court." Ouachita volleyball coach Allison Frizzell-Kizer said, "Expectations tend to change throughout the season but initially my expectations start defensively and then work forward. We are scrappy defensively and we are going to use that to our advantage in those long rallies that seem to never end. Offensively we are smart and see the court well and that will just continually improve as we grow confident in our system."

Last season the Tigers finished 19-12 overall and 9-7 in Great American Conference play. Ouachita is led by a core group of upperclassmen in Nikki Clay (Bryant, Ark.), Stormi Leonard (Decatur, Texas), Adrianna Nolly (Denton, Texas), Madison Wilson (Sanger, Texas), Tabatha Huckabee (North Richland Hills, Texas), Katie Camp (Plano, Texas) and Tori Barnhill (Lonoke, Ark.) The group has already compiled a program record 57 wins over a three-year period.

"I am expecting our upperclassmen to lead by example and pull our freshmen as we grow." Frizzell-Kizer responded, "As a whole we are motivated to continually improve every day and come off the court better than we went on and so far, they are exceeding that expectation."

This past summer Leonard and Nolly took their talents to Brazil as they competed on the USA D-2 volleyball team. Leonard a three-time All-Great American Conference selection, finished last season with a team leading 1,206 assists and averaged 10.58 assists per set last year. The Lone Star State native has amassed 3,430 assists in her career thus far, which places her second All-Time in the GAC. The junior from Texas is also second All-Time in assists per set with a 10.66 average.

Nolly finished up her sophomore season leading the team in hitting percentage (.327) and blocks (91). The former GAC Freshman of the Year award winner was named to her second All-Conference team following another standout year on the court. In her short career the Lone Star native has amassed 505 kills and 156 blocks in her career.

This will be the Tigers fourth appearance in the Alabama Huntsville Tournament since the start of 2010 season. Ouachita holds an 8-3 record in Tournament matches over that time span. The Tigers serve up the season against Auburn University at Montgomery at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. This will be the first meeting between the two schools.  

The Warhawks are entering just their second year of NCAA Division II competition. Last season Montgomery went 9-21 overall and 1-15 in Gulf South play. The Warhawks went 2-2 in matches at last season's tournament, picking up straight set victories against Lemoyne-Owen College and Tuskegee University. Brianna Garvin is the top returner for the Warhawks entering the 2018 season. The senior from Atlanta led the Warhawks in kills (227), blocks (82 total), and hitting percentage (.300).

​​​​​​​Lemoyne-Owen is the second opponent for the Tigers on Friday afternoon. The Magicians got off to a slow start last season losing four straight to begin the season. Lemoyne-Owen put a hex on their opponents the rest of the season though as they finished with a 22-10 overall record. The 22 victories last season gave Lemoyne-Owen their first winning season in over a decade.

On Saturday afternoon, Ouachita will face old Gulf South Conference rivals in West Georgia and Alabama Huntsville. The Tigers have not fared well against their former conference foes, going just 2-7 against the pair since the 2010 season.

Ouachita and West Georgia face-off against one another at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The Wolves have had one of the most dreadful stretches of volleyball over the past three years. Since the 2015 season the Wolves have gone 11-77.

The Tigers will battle the Chargers of Alabama Huntsville at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Huntsville is coming off a 23-12 campaign and a third place finish in the Gulf South Conference. The Chargers have won at least 16 matches since the 2014 season began.

A daily schedule and live stat links can be found on the tournament homepage link below:  https://uahchargers.com/sports/2015/6/22/VB_0622155948.aspx

Set-by-set updates will be provided on the official Ouachita Athletics social media channels and be sure to use the official hashtags: #crosstheline and #BringYourRoar. A recap of both matches will be posted at the conclusion of the second match on www.obutigers.com