ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Volleyball team used an all-around effort to take down the third-place Bison of Oklahoma Baptist 3-1 Thursday night at the Sturgis Center.
In what was arguably the Tigers' best performance of the season so far, the Tigers started out cold, letting Oklahoma Baptist jump out to a four-point lead to open the set. The Bison clung to their lead, holding it for nearly the entire set. But with a score of 24-22 in favor of OKB and their backs against the wall, the Tigers found a spark. Ouachita went on a 4-0 run to tie the match, take their first lead and then win the first set with a score of 26-24.
Ouachita again found itself in an early hole in the second set, but this time the Bison's lead didn't last until the last minute. A massive 11-1 run took the Tigers from down by two, to up by eight with a score of 20-12. The Tigers cruised to a 25-17 win in set number two and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set started the same, with Oklahoma Baptist taking an early, four-point lead. But this time, the Bison were able to hold on despite the Tigers' best efforts. OKB took set three 25-21 and made the match score 2-1.
Changing things up in set four, it was Ouachita that took the early lead. But the Bison were quick to tie things back up. From then on, both teams traded runs and small leads before Ouachita took its largest lead of the set 22-17. Oklahoma Baptist found a groove and went on a 5-0 tear to tie things up at 22-22.
But
Riley Braziel and the rest of the Tigers decided it was time to end things as Braziel fired off three straight kills to give the Tigers a 25-22 win in set four and secure a 3-1 victory in the match.
Tonight was the Tigers' first win against Oklahoma Baptist since the 2018.
It was an all-around standout performance by the Tigers tonight, with a total of seven players reaching double-digits in at least one category.
The attackers were led by
Emily Adams with a season-high 16 kills.
Riley Braziel was next with 14, followed by
Kayla Steinmeyer with 11 and
Haley Fairchild with 10.
Sticking with the front row, Steinmeyer and
Leah Gardner each had five total blocks to lead the Tigers.
Courtney Hanson dished out 52 assists across the four sets, her second 50-plus assist game of the season.
Four Tigers reached double-digit digs, leading the way was
Avery Jauz with a career-high 29 digs. Next was both Braziel and Hanson who each had 22, and
Kylie Kisgen was next with 10 digs.
Braziel and Hanson both recorded double-doubles tonight. Braziel got her sixth of the season with her 14 kills and 22 digs and Hanson got her 10
th of the season with her 52 assists and 22 digs.
In total, the Tigers grabbed 106 digs, the most by the team this season and the most in a single match since they recorded 121 against UT-Permian Basin in September of 2021.
The Tigers will look to keep up the success as they host the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene University tomorrow, October 20 at 4 p.m. in the Sturgis Center.
