ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita volleyball team started the 2024 season off well, sweeping the Miners of Missouri S&T, but fell to the Choctaws of Mississippi College in a five-set thriller Friday afternoon.
Match One: Ouachita 3, Missouri S&T 0
Ouachita struck first in the opening set of the season opener against Missouri S&T on a
Kailey Thedford kill and never looked back. After a close start, the Tigers found themselves with a six-point 13-7 lead over the Miners that then turned into a seven-point 18-11 lead later in the set. The Miners closed the gap to make it 22-20, but a 3-0 Ouachita run gave the Tigers a set one victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Tigers came out hot in the second set, jumping out to a commanding 11-1 lead. A 5-0 Tiger run put Ouachita up by 14 points and Ouachita cruised to a 25-12 win in set two to take a 2-0 lead over S&T.
The third set started out like the second, with an early 6-0 run to start followed by the Tigers keeping their foot on the gas to take a 16-3 lead early on. Ouachita kept the Miners from making any runs larger than three points and settled in to win set three 25-16, earning a a sweep to start the 2024 season.
Emily Adams started the year off well, pacing the offence with 11 kills on a .556 hitting percentage.
Riley Braziel and
Kailey Thedford were next with eight kills each followed by Lead\h Gardner with seven.
Courtney Hanson picked up where she left off last year, tallying 33 assists and 11 digs for a double-double in the first contest of the season.
Avery Jauz paced the back-row defense with 14 digs, followed by Hanson with 11, and Braziel with nine. Gardner led the front-row defense with four blocks on the afternoon. Adams was next with two blocks.
Match Two: Mississippi College 3, Ouachita 2
The second game of the day got off to a close start, with both Ouachita and Mississippi College trading points until the Choctaws put together a 4-0 run late to take a 17-14 lead. MC held onto that lead and took set one 25-20.
The Choctaws kept the hot streak going in set two, taking an early lead. Ouachita chipped away at that MC lead late, bringing it within two after a 4-0 run that included two kills from
Kailey Thedford to cut the score to 20-18. However, the Choctaws again held onto their lead and took set two 25-21 and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Tigers found a spark in the third set though, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. MC retook the lead, but Ouachita answered with a 5-0 run that saw back-to-back-to-back-to-back kills from
Riley Braziel and took a 10-6 lead. The Choctaws answered with a run of their own, but the Tigers were ready, rattling off another five straight points to increase their lead to five. This time, it was Ouachita that held onto its late lead, winning set three 25-20 to make the match score 2-1.
Ouachita kept its momentum going into the fourth set of the night. The Tigers used multiple small runs throughout the set to keep Mississippi at bay while expanding their own lead. Ouachita recorded a .355 hitting percentage in set four as the Tigers grew their lead from beginning to end, taking their largest lead on the final point to win the set 25-14 and tie the match at 2-2.
However, it was the Choctaws that came out hot in the deciding set, taking an early four-point lead. Ouachita clawed its way back within two points late in the set, but it was not enough. MC took set five 15-12 and won the five-set thriller 3-2.
Kailey Thedford had a big night on the court, racking up a team-leading and career-high 18 kills. The sophomore also tallied two solo blocks. Braziel was right behind with 16 kills on the night. The Decatur, TX native also racked up 12 digs to earn her first double-double of the season.
Courtney Hanson dished out 46 assists to lead all players. Hanson assisted on 79 percent of kills for the Tigers in the match (46-of-58). The Arlington, Texas native racked up 13 digs to lead the team and secure her second double-double of the season. In total, four Tigers reached double-digit digs: Hanson with 13, Braziel and
Peyton Church each grabbed 12, and
Kylie Kisgen tallied 10.
Haley Fairchild led the front-row defense with five blocks.
Avery Jauz led all servers with four aces.
The Tigers will be back in action with day two of the Reddie-Tiger Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, September 7 with two more matches lined up. Ouachita will play Montevallo University at noon and then take on McKendree University at 5:30 p.m. with both matches being played in the Sturgis Center.
