ENID, Oklahoma – The Ouachita volleyball team saw its season come to a close Thursday afternoon, falling 3-1 to Harding in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Championship Tournament at the Stride Bank Center.
It was the third straight season for the Tigers to reach at least the semifinals, including winning it all in 2024.
The Tigers (17-13) opened the match with a strong first-set performance, taking a 25-21 victory behind 14 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Harding (25-4) responded by taking the second set 25-23 to even the match.
The Bisons carried that momentum into the third set, winning 25-12 before closing out the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth set.
Leah Gardner led Ouachita offensively with 17 kills, finishing with a .298 hitting percentage. Sophie Henry added 11 kills while Kailey Thedford contributed nine.
Mack Bidwell recorded 36 assists, while Kylie Kisgen paced the defensive effort with 22 digs. Delaney Gonzalez added 16 digs and Bidwell finished with 17 to make her 11th double-double of the year.
Ouachita made its presence felt at the net, recording 16 total blocks compared to seven for Harding. Henry led the Tigers with eight total blocks, followed by Gardner with seven.
The Tigers turned around a slow start to the season to finish third in the GAC in the regular season with eight true freshman in the mix all season.
