JACKSON, Tennessee – The Ouachita volleyball team made it five straight victories after picking up wins against Edward Waters University and Union University to close out the 2024 Union University Classic on Saturday in Tennessee.
Match One: Ouachita 3, Edward Waters 0
Set Scores: 25-16, 25-7, 25-14
The first match of Saturday did not start out in Ouachita's favor, as Edward Waters quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead to open the day. It took a few more points, but Ouachita found its groove in a big way, rattling off a 15-2 run that put the purple-and-white Tigers up by eight. Ouachita used that run to close out a 25-16 win in set number one.
Ouachita kept its foot on the gas in set two, jumping out to a 13-3 lead after a dominating 12-0 run early in the set. The Tigers continued to push their lead until the very end, comfortably winning the second set 25-7 to take a 2-0 match lead.
An 8-1 run is how Ouachita started set three and never looked back. The 8-1 lead then turned into 15-4 after a 7-0 run. EWU tried to chip away at Ouachita's lead, but it wasn't enough. Ouachita cruised to a 25-14 win in set three to earn its fourth sweep of the season.
Ouachita stayed on the attack from beginning to end, racking up 41 kills on a .450 hitting percentage. The highest single game hitting percentage since the Tigers hit .508 against Southwest Baptist in 2018. Ouachita also held Edward Waters to a .000 hitting percentage.
Emily Adams let the attack as the only player to hit double-digit kills with 10.
Leah Gardner was next with seven.
Gardner and Adams both led the front row with total blocks with four each.
Courtney Hanson led all passers with 24 assists.
Avery Jauz was the only Tiger to hit double-digit digs, totaling 10 of them. Hanson followed with nine.
Match Two: Ouachita 3, Union 1
Set Scores: 25-17, 25-13, 22-25, 25-11
Ouachita picked up where it left off, taking an early lead on Union University in the closing match of the 2024 Union Classic. The Tigers took an early five-point advantage and made the most of it. The Bulldogs tried to get back into the set, bringing it within three points late. But Ouachita found a groove and ended the set on a 5-0 run to win 25-17.
The second set started closer, with Union using a run of its own to take an 8-7 lead early. The Tigers woke up and scored eight points in a row to take a seven-point lead. Ouachita held onto its lead and pushed it out to double digits late to win set two comfortably by the score of 25-13 taking a 2-0 match lead.
Union took the lead early in set three, putting Ouachita at a 5-1 disadvantage to start. The Bulldogs kept things close from there, keeping the Tigers from tying the set. Union held onto its lead until the end, winning set three 25-22 and making the match score 2-1.
The Tigers came out focused in set four, jumping out to a 12-3 lead. Ouachita stayed in command of the set, pushing its lead to double digits. The Tigers handled the Bulldogs in the fourth set, winning 25-11 to win the set 3-1 and earn Ouachita's fifth straight victory.
Tigers lit up the stat sheet in the 3-1 victory.
Riley Braziel was the leader of five Tigers who reached the double-digit kill mark with a season-high 18.
Haley Fairchild was next with a season-high 13 kills followed by
Kailey Thedford with 12, and
Emily Adams and
Leah Gardner tied for fourth with 10 kills each. Adams and Gardner also tied for the team lead in total blocks with four each. With her four blocks, Gardner reached a milestone of 100 career blocks.
Courtney Hanson dished out a season-high 56 assists, the second most in her career, and the most since handing out 59 in October of last season against Arkansas Tech. This 56-assist match is Arlington, Texas native's fifth 50-plus assist match of her career. Hanson also tied with
Peyton Church and
Kylie Kisgen for the team lead in aces with two each.
Kisgen led the team in digs with 12, followed by Hanson and Braziel with nine each and Church and
Avery Jauz with eight each.
The Tigers will take the GAC's longest active win streak into the 2024 Great American Conference opener against the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas University on Tuesday, September 17 at 6 p.m. in Arkadelphia.
