WICHITA, Kan. – Ouachita 2, Arkansas Fort Smith 3
The Ouachita Tigers fall in five sets to the Arkansas Fort Smith Lions in the fourth and final game of the Newman Invitational. The Lions took a 2-0 lead, but the Tigers did not go away quietly, winning the next two sets before surrendering the fifth set by two points.
 
For the first two sets, the Tigers averaged a .055 hitting percentage and failed two lead over the Lions at any point. Set one found Ouachita at a 23-10 disadvantage, but the Tigers still managed to rally off eight points before losing the set. For the second set, the Lions jumped out to a 7-1 lead and from there the Tigers were unable to climb back in to the match ending with a 25-16 score in favor of Arkansas Fort Smith.
 
Despite trailing by five to begin the set, the Tigers roared to life in the third set with a 6-0 run that ensured that they would win the set 25-23.
 
Set four was a back and fourth match that found the Tigers trailing 20-17 with little hope to win the match. However, Ouachita rallied their offense and made an 8-3 run to secure the fourth set 25-23 and force a fifth set.
 
The final set of the match saw seven lead changes between the Tigers and Lions. Unfortunately for the Tigers, a strong 5-0 run was able to put Ouachita just out of reach of winning the final set, with the Lions prevailing 15-13.
 
Coming off of the first double-double of her career yesterday, Katie Camp (Plano, Texas) led the Tigers offensively with 16 kills and 9 digs defensively. Adrianna Nolly (Denton, Texas) also contributed double digit kills with 10 in the match. Julianna Mack (Little Rock, Ark.) and Shannon Hogan (Plano, Texas) recorded 14 and 13 digs respectively, while Stormi Leonard (Decatur, Texas) contributed 40 assists.
 
With the conclusion of the tournament, Katie Camp was named to the All-Tournament Team and recorded 46 kills and 42 digs, averaging a double-double for those four games. Stormi Leonard finished with 134 assists, while Julianna Mack dug out 64 balls on the weekend.
 
The Tigers will play against Southern Arkansas University at home this coming Tuesday, September 11, at 6:00 p.m.