JACKSON, Tennessee – The Ouachita Volleyball team picked up two wins on their Tennessee road trip, sweeping Lane College 3-0, and taking down the University of the Cumberlands 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers took care of business in their first match of the day, with a comfortable 3-0 sweep of the Lane College Dragons.
The Tigers started the match with an early lead that was quickly pushed to double-digits with a score of 17-7 with help from an 11-2 run. Another 5-0 run late in the set sealed the set with Ouachita winning 25-13.
Ouachita jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the second set and never looked back, cruising to a 25-17 win to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set saw the Dragons take their first lead of the match to start the set. Lane held a slim lead until a 5-0 run put Ouachita back on top with a score of 18-14. The Tigers ended the set with a 7-1 run that sealed the victory for the Tigers 25-16, giving Ouachita the 3-0 sweep.
Leah Gardner led the Tiger front with 11 kills and six total blocks.
Courtney Hanson handed out 27 assists in the sweep.
Kylie Kisgen led the defense with 10 digs and had the team lead in aces with three.
The second match of the day saw Ouachita grind out a 3-1 win against the Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands.
The first set was back-and-forth with both sides trading leads and lengthy runs, but in the end it was a 5-0 run for the Tigers that sealed the set with a score of 25-19.
In the second set, the Tigers found themselves in a five-point deficit early on. But Ouachita found a groove and went on a 6-0 tear to take a slim lead. The set stayed close until the very end, with Ouachita coming out on top, edging out a 25-23 win to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set saw Cumberlands use the big runs to its advantage to win 25-17 and make it a 2-1 match.
The Tigers took control of the fourth set early on; after opening with a 2-0 lead, Ouachita did not trail for the remainder of the set, taking set four 25-20 and winning the match 3-1.
Three Tigers hit the double-digit mark with kills:
Emily Adams had the lead with 12, followed by
Kayla Steinmeyer and
Leah Gardner with 11 each. Adams also had four blocks to lead the team.
Courtney Hanson led the team in both assists and digs, dishing out 42 assists and grabbing a career-high 22 digs, good for Hanson's sixth double-double of the season.
Three other Tigers also recorded double-digit digs:
Kylie Kisgen had 17,
Avery Jauz picked up 14 and
Kellen Church had 12.
The Tigers will be back at home hoping to keep the success moving as they host Division I Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday, October 3.
