ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Volleyball team picked up its second Great American Conference win of the season, taking down Arkansas Tech in a back-and-forth 3-2 thriller Tuesday night at the Sturgis Center.
The Tigers found a rhythm early, and after taking a 2-1 lead, Ouachita did not trail for the remainder of the set, winning it 25-20 over the Golden Suns.
The second set saw Tech find its own groove to win 25-23 despite a late rally by the Tigers.
Set number three saw Ouachita start hot with a 5-0 run to open the set. The Tigers took that early lead and ran with it, cruising comfortably to a 25-16 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was back-and-forth, with both teams trading runs and leads from beginning to end. The two teams ended up in extra points with the Suns coming out on top 26-24 to tie the match at 2-2.
The fifth and final set was all Tigers, as they opened with a 4-1 lead over the suns. Tech tried to close the gap, bringing it within one point with a score of 10-9. But the Tigers decided to put an end to things, spouting off a 5-0 run to seal the victory. Ouachita took set five 15-9 and the match 3-2.
As a team, Ouachita out-hit Tech .369 to .190 in the match. In the third set alone, the Tigers racked up an impressive .519 hitting percentage compared to ATU's .031. The .369 hitting percentage is a season-high for the Tigers.
Speaking of the offense, the Tigers racked up 69 total kills, a season-high for the team and the most since September of 2019 when Ouachita also recorded 69 kills against Oklahoma Baptist.
The Tigers used a balanced offensive attack to grind out the win with
Riley Braziel leading the way with a season-high 19 kills.
Leah Gardner was close behind with 16 kills and
Kayla Steinmeyer was next with 12. Gardner also tied with
Haley Fairchild for the lead in blocks with four each.
Courtney Hanson had a career night on the court, dishing out a career-high 59 assists across the five sets. Those 59 assists are the most by a Tiger in a single match since Stormi Leonard also recorded 59 on November 8, 2018, also against Arkansas Tech.
Avery Jauz again paced the back row with 19 digs.
The Tigers will look to keep the momentum going as they travel to Magnolia, Arkansas to take on the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas University on Thursday, September 28.
