The Lady Bisons volleyball team took on Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., this past Thursday for their final regular season match of the 2014 season. The Lady Bisons lost to the Lady Tigers 3-1 after four sets, leaving them with a final regular season record of 19-8 and 10-4 in the Great American Conference (GAC) standings.
Senior outside hitter Marindia Turner locked in a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs, while sophomore setter Abigail Glosup locked in her second straight double-double with 40 assists and 18 digs.
Senior middle blocker Liv Savage had 13 kills and five blocks, and junior outside hitter Molly Howard had 11 kills and eight digs.
Of the 84 digs the Lady Bisons acquired, 22 were made by sophomore defensive specialist Anna Leigh Cargile while 17 were made by senior outside hitter Erica Heim.
The Lady Bisons started the match with a 25-15 win in the first set, never letting OBU get closer than five points to a victory. This secured an early lead with a score of 1-0.
OBU took the lead in the second set with a score of 9-6 until the Lady Bisons went on a 4-0 run to go one up at 10-9 and then again going on a 4-0 run to take the score to 15-13. OBU came back and tied the game at 17 on a 4-2 run and finally closed the game with a 7-2 run leaving the final score 25-21 in the Tigers’ favor.
In the next set, Harding found themselves with a 7-4 lead early until OBU went on a 13-2 run to take the match 25-18, putting the Tigers in the lead overall at 2-1.
The fourth set was all OBU, as they ran out to a 13-5 lead and carried that momentum to a win in the match-clinching game 25-16.
Although the Lady Bisons did not finish their season with a win, the team still looks forward to their matches in the upcoming GAC tournament.
“The game was an eye opener for our team,” Howard said. “Ouachita, as well as every other team in our conference, is a good team. You have to take advantage when they give you the opportunities to score. We just weren’t efficient in doing that.”
Sophomore middle blocker Sara Smith, who was named Capital One Academic All-District 7, said that despite the loss, the team is ready to play their best in the GAC tournament.
“The game didn’t exactly go as we had planned,” Smith said. “But we have bigger goals for the future with the GAC tournament coming up soon. We plan to go far.”
Howard said that the Lady Bisons will have a chance to knock off several of the teams they lost to in the regular season at the GAC tournament and that they are ready for the challenge.
“That loss immediately brought our team together to fight for what we think is rightfully ours,” Howard said. “We are going into the tournament with a warrior spirit. We are more than likely going to play every team we’ve lost to this season, and it’s time to redeem ourselves.”
The GAC tournament will be held in Hot Springs, Ark., Nov. 13-15. The Lady Bisons will be the No. 4 seed.
