ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Volleyball Team finished the Tiger-Reddie Invitational on a high-note, picking up wins in both of its matches Saturday; first taking down Christian Brothers University by a score of 3-1, then sweeping Union University 3-0.
The first match of the day saw the Tigers take on the Buccaneers of Christian Brothers University.
CBU struck first, going up 2-0 to start the match, but Ouachita followed with two points of their own. The Tigers quickly found themselves down by five after a solid run. Ouachita and Christian Brothers traded leads back and forth, with CBU going ahead 20-19 late in the set.
But the Tigers came alive, rattling off a 6-0 run that included three kills from
Kayla Steinmeyer to win the first set 25-20 and take the early match lead 1-0.
The second set was more of the same, with Tigers finding themselves down by five early, but this time, despite Ouachita's best efforts to close the gap, CBU took set two by a score of 25-18.
The third set saw Ouachita jump out to a four-point lead early on before the Bucs caught back up. Late in the set, the Tigers were up by four 22-18 before CBU woke up and took a 23-22 lead. The set ended up going into extra points, with the Tigers pulling out the victory with a score of 29-27 thanks to back-to-back kills from
Haley Fairchild and
Courtney Hanson.
The fourth set was another back-and-forth brawl, with Ouachita finally taking a late 20-16 lead after a 4-0 run. This run proved to be all the Tigers needed as they held on to win the set 25-20 and take the 3-1 victory in the match.
Emily Adams led the offense with 10 kills and a .360 hitting percentage. Steinmeyer followed with nine kills.
Kylie Kisgen paced the defense with 18 digs, a season high. Kisgen was followed by
Courtney Hanson with 12,
Avery Jauz with 11 and
Savannah Whitaker with 10.
Hanson led all setters with 34 assists, earning her fifth double-double of the season.
The second match of the day was all Tigers from start to finish as they swept the Bulldogs with set scores of 25-19, 25-19, and 25-15.
The first set saw the Tigers jump out to an 11-5 lead after a 6-0 run. From that point on, Ouachita was in the driver's seat. Union never came closer than three points for the rest of the set and the Tigers took care of business winning the first set 25-19.
The second set started a little closer, with the score staying within three points until late in the set with Ouachita went on a 4-0 scoring run to take a 22-17 lead. The Tigers held on again, taking down the Bulldogs by a score of 25-19.
The third and final set saw the Tigers dominate from first serve to last point. Ouachita put together scoring runs of six and seven straight points that led to a 19-9 lead for the Tigers. The Tigers finished off the Bulldogs, winning the set 25-15 and the match 3-0 to close out the busy tournament weekend.
Two Tigers led the attackers as
Kayla Steinmeyer and
Leah Gardner each had eight kills. Gardner also led the team in blocks with three.
Hanson again led the setters with 28 assists and
Kylie Kisgen led the back row with 10 digs.
The Tigers will be looking to keep the momentum going as they host the Cotton Blossoms of the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Tuesday, September 19 at 6 p.m. in the Sturgis Physical Education Center.
