ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University volleyball team lost to Harding at home on Tuesday night by a final score of 3-1.

The Tigers (8-18, 3-10 GAC) jumped to a quick lead with a 25-19 win in the first set, but the Bisons (13-8, 9-4 GAC) powered back with three straight set victories by scores of 25-11, 25-20, and 25-15 to win the match.

Harding scored first in the first set, but Ouachita rattled off five straight to hold the early lead. The Tigers never trailed the rest of the way in the opener, and held as much as a six-point lead on three different occasions, including the final margin.

The Bisons responded with a convincing win in the second set, and did so by taking a commanding lead with the first seven points. At one point, Ouachita had a rally with points on five of six serves to pull the game to within six, but Harding answered back with five straight to regain its commanding lead.

It was all Tigers early in the third set. Ouachita scored the first four, forcing a Harding timeout, and then built a 9-1 lead before the Bisons could get in rhythm. Harding posted a pair of 5-0 runs to climb back to within one point, and then closed out the set with nine straight to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth rally early, and Ouachita led by five on two different occasions. With the Tigers leading 13-8, Harding took over, and Ouachita struggled with errors to only score two more points while Harding rattled off 10 in a row at point to seal the win.

EJ Day led the Tigers with 10 kills and three service aces. Emily Low added nine kills and four total blocks. Kellen Church and Temi Fayiga led the team in assists with 19 and 13, respectively. Lexie Castillow paced the back row with 23 digs.

The Tigers are back in action on Thursday at home for their final home match of the season. Ouachita will honor its four seniors immediately following the match. The Tigers play host to Southern Arkansas, starting at 6 p.m. at the Sturgis Center.