MONTICELLO, Arkansas – The Ouachita volleyball team took down the Cotton Blossoms of the University of Arkansas-Monticello by the score of 3-1 Thursday night on the road, clinching a berth to the 2024 Great American Conference Tournament.
Set Scores: 25-16, 14-25, 25-11, 25-21
Ouachita (17-9, 6-8 GAC) struck first in the Thursday night match. An early 4-0 Tiger run put Ouachita up by five over Monticello (4-20, 0-14 GAC). Another 4-0 run not long after put the Tigers up 12-5. From there, the Tigers stayed in the driver's seat and cruised to a 25-16 win in the opening set.
The Tigers went up by five early in the second set, but the Cotton Blossoms were ready to answer this time. UAM came back and tied the set at 12-12 and proceeded to take its first lead and push it to 17-13. Monticello held on to its lead and won set two 25-14.
After starting set three with three straight points, Ouachita then scored another six straight points to take a 9-2 lead over the Blossoms. The Tigers did not let up for there and used multiple three and four-point runs to take its largest lead of the night at 22-7. Ouachita comfortably finished off the set 25-11 to take the 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set saw Ouachita jump out to another five-point lead. But like in set two, Monticello started the comeback and tied the set at 9-9. The two teams traded the next few points with UAM taking its first lead with the score 15-14. The Tigers tied it back up, retook the lead, and pushed it back to five points thanks to a 7-1 run that put Ouachita up 21-16. The Tigers kept their grip on that late lead and held it all the way to a 25-21 set win and 3-1 match victory.
Tonight's win guaranteed the Tigers a spot in the 2024 Great American Conference Tournament. Ouachita currently sits in fifth place with just two games left in the regular season. This will be the Tigers' third straight tournament appearance. The 2024 GAC Tournament will be held at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Spring, Arkansas. The first round will start on Thursday, November 21.
Three Tigers were all close in final kill numbers:
Riley Braziel led with 12,
Leah Gardner was next with 11 on a team-high .417 hitting percentage, followed by
Kailey Thedford with 10. Braziel also recorded 12 digs for her 11
th double-double of the season.
Gardner also led the team in total blocks with 4.
Courtney Hanson led all setters with 35 assists. Hanson also recorded 11 digs to complete her 14
th double-double of the season.
Avery Jauz led the Tigers in digs with 24, followed by
Kylie Kisgen with 14, Braziel with 12 and Hanson with 11.
The Tigers will look to keep the momentum next week when they host Henderson State University on Tuesday, November 12 for Senior Night in Arkadelphia.
