BETHANY, Oklahoma – The Ouachita Volleyball team racked up nearly 80 kills and 90 digs on its way to a five-set win over the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene University to get back into the win column Friday night.
Set Scores: 25-18, 25-27, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13
Ouachita (12-7, 3-4 GAC) struck first in the Friday afternoon match against Southern Nazarene (4-14, 1-6 GAC) and did not look back in the first set. The Tigers went up by five early in the set thanks to a few small runs. It looked like the Crimson Storm was going to mount a comeback after bringing the set within a point midway through. Ouachita answered back with a 5-0 run to go up 22-16 and the Tigers held on to win the opening set 25-18.
After the Tigers scored the first three points in set two, SNU responded with six straight of their own. Ouachita tied the set later at nine before the Storm posted another run to go up 16-10. It looked like Southern Nazarene was going to take control of the set, but Ouachita would not go away. At set point, trailing 24-20, the Tigers scored four straight to tie the set and force extra points, but SNU finished the set, winning 27-25 and tied the match 1-1.
Set three was back-and-forth from the beginning. Neither side could gain the upper hand as the two teams traded small run. In the end, SNU used a late advantage to take the third set 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The two teams kept things close again in set four, with neither side holding more than a two-point lead until Ouachita went on a 6-1 run to take a four-point, 17-13 advantage. That run proved to be the difference, as Tigers and Storm went almost point for point the rest of the set. Ouachita kept the advantage to win set four 25-21 and force a winner-take-all set five.
It shouldn't surprise you that the fifth set was kept close as well. The Tigers took an early 3-1 lead, after that initial 3-0 run, no team scored more than two points in a row for the remainder of the set. SNU held the 8-7 advantage, but Ouachita tied it back up after swapping sides. A 4-1 run late put the Tigers up 13-11. From there, points were traded until Ouachita came out on top to win set five 15-13 and secure a 3-2 match victory.
This was the Ouachita's first road win against Southern Nazarene in the GAC era; the Tigers were previously 0-6 in Bethany since SNU joined the conference.
The offense led the way in the win as the Tigers racked up a season-high total of 78 kills on a.325 hitting percentage. The 78 kills were the most in a single match since Tigers also tallied 78 against Henderson State in 2018.
Four Tigers hit double digit kills, with two posting over 20. Leading the Tiger offense was
Riley Braziel with a season-high 22 kills.
Emily Adams was next with 20, followed by
Leah Gardner with 15, and
Kailey Thedford with 13. Gardner was the most efficient attacker, posting a .467 hitting percentage.
Courtney Hanson led all setters as she dished out a season-high 57 assists, her fourth 50-plus assist match of the season. Hanson also tied a season-high with 18 digs for her 12
th double-double of the year.
Kylie Kisgen led the back row with a career-high 31 digs in the win. The 31 digs are the most by a Tiger in a single match this season, and the most since Lexie Castillow had 34 in 2022. In total, four Tigers had double-digit digs, Kisgen led with 31, followed by Hanson with 18,
Avery Jauz with 14, and
Peyton Church with 12.
Haley Fairchild led the front row defense with six blocks.
The Tigers will look to keep the momentum going into next week when they host the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday, October 17 at 6 p.m. in Arkadelphia.
