TYLER, Texas – The Ouachita volleyball team started the 2025 season on a high note on Friday at the UT-Tyler Patriot Classic with a 3-1 win over UT-Dallas and a 3-0 win over Mississippi College.
Final game scores in the opener against the Comets were 25-19, 25-13, 23-25, and 25-18. In the sweep over the Choctaws, the Tigers won 25-20, 25-16, and 25-23.
Junior
Leah Gardner led the Tigers in the opener with a .762 hitting percentage, racking up a match-high 16 kills on 21 swings with no errors. She also added four blocks in the win.
Haley Fairchild added 12 kills and a .611 hitting percentage.
Riley Braziel cashed in a double-double of 11 kills and 14 digs.
Kailey Thedford had 10 kills.
Emily Adams finished with nine.
Courtney Hanson aided the offensive attack with 38 assists and also contributed on defense with 10 digs for her 46th career double-double.
Kylie Kisgen led the back row with 17 digs.
As a team, the Tigers hit .298 with 60 kills on 151 swings with 15 errors. The best set was the opener with 18 kills, a .419 attack percentage, and a 76 percent success rate on sideouts.
In the second match of the day, the Tigers and Choctaws rallied back and forth in the first set before Ouachita rallied to dominate the second set with a .375 hitting percentage and only one error on 32 attempts. With their backs against the wall in the third set, MC rallied late and even led by one, but the Tigers responded to preserve the sweep, including kills from Fairchild and
Riley Braziel. A block by Fairchild sealed the victory.
Thedford led the Tigers offensively against the Choctaws with a match-high 12 kills. Adams and Fairchild added eight and seven, respectively. Hanson turned in 33 assists and nine digs in the three-setter. Kisgen again led the back row with 19 digs.
As a team, the Tigers hit .240 with 43 kills on 121 swings with only 14 errors.
Ouachita is back in action at the Patriot Classic on Saturday, taking on the host UT-Tyler at 11 a.m. and seventh-ranked Central Oklahoma at 3 p.m.
