WARRENSBURG, Missouri – The Ouachita volleyball team picked up another split on Saturday at the Central Missouri Comfort Inn Invitational starting with a 3-0 win over McKendree and finishing the day with a near upset, falling in a five-set thriller against ninth-ranked Washburn.
Ouachita earned a straight-sets win over McKendree, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16, behind a balanced offensive effort.
Kailey Thedford led the Tigers with 12 kills on 26 swings, while
Leah Gardner added eight kills along with a team-high three blocks.
Emily Adams contributed seven kills and a block, and
Courtney Hanson directed the attack with 32 assists. Defensively,
Kylie Kisgen paced the back row with 14 digs, while Hanson added 13. Ouachita finished the match hitting .239 as a team and held McKendree to a .105 percentage.
To finish the weekend, Ouachita pushed nationally-ranked Washburn to five sets before falling 25-19, 30-28, 23-25, 17-25, 15-9.
Emily Adams powered the Tigers with 19 kills and eight digs, while
Kailey Thedford reached double figures with 11 kills.
Courtney Hanson ran the offense with 44 assists and added 10 digs for a double-double. At the net,
Leah Gardner posted seven blocks and
Haley Fairchild added six.
Kylie Kisgen anchored the defense with 27 digs, giving her back-to-back double-digit efforts on the day. As a team, Ouachita finished with 50 kills and 12 total blocks while limiting Washburn to .210 hitting, but the Ichabods pulled away late in the fifth set to secure the win.
The Tigers carry a 10-3 record back into Great American Conference play, which picks back up on Tuesday on the road against Arkansas-Monticello.
