ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita volleyball team opened Great American Conference play with a 3-1 loss to the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas University Tuesday night at the Sturgis Center.
Set Scores: 24-26, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25
Ouachita (6-2, 0-1 GAC) struck first in the conference opener against Southern Arkansas (6-2, 1-0 GAC) Tuesday night, but the Muleriders were quick to respond. SAU took the early lead and held onto it despite the Tigers' best efforts. Ouachita was able to tie the set on numerous occasions and took a one-point lead later on. Ouachita fell behind after a small run by SAU, but quickly tied it back at 24-24 to force extra points. However, Southern Arkansas answered back to take set one 26-24.
The Tigers took the early lead in set two, holding onto it with the score of 10-6. Southern Arkansas got back in its rhythm to take its first lead of the set 15-14. SAU held onto its lead for the remainder of the set to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Both teams had 3-0 runs to start the third set, first Ouachita, then SAU to keep it tied at 3-3. From there, the two teams continued the close back-and-forth, with SAU holding onto a slight advantage late in the set. Trailing 20-18, Ouachita put together a 3-0 run to retake the lead 21-20. After trading the next three points, the two teams were tied 22-22, but three straight Tiger kills gave Ouachita a much-needed 25-22 win in set number three to make the match score 2-1.
Set four looked like the rest of the sets, with both teams trading small runs and small leads. The Muleriders took a late advantage with the score of 20-18, which proved to be the difference. Ouachita tried to cut back into the deficit, but it was not enough, and SAU took set four 25-22 to win the match 3-1, snapping the Tiger's five match win streak.
Emily Adams and
Leah Gardner led the Tiger attack with 13 kills each. Gardner posted a .409 hitting percentage to go with her 13 kills. The Crandall, Texas native also led the front row defense with four blocks, followed by
Haley Fairchild with three.
Courtney Hanson led all players with 33 assists and picked up 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the year.
Avery Jauz led the defense with a season-high 19 digs. Jauz was followed by
Kailey Thedford with 12, Hanson with 11 and
Kylie Kisgen with 10 to round out the Tigers with double-digit digs.
The Tigers will look to get back on track this weekend at the 2024 Southwest Baptist Volleyball Classic. Ouachita will play four matches over the course of Friday and Saturday, September 20-21. The Tigers open the classic against Missouri Southern State at 11:45 a.m. Friday morning, followed by Fort Hays State at 4:15 p.m. and take on Truman State and Southwest Baptist at 9:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. respectfully on Saturday.
