ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita volleyball team got off to a hot and fast start on Tuesday evening and never looked back as they defeated Southern Arkansas 25-23, 25-17 and 25-19.

Ouachita (11-3, 2-0 GAC) has now won their conference home opener in three consecutive seasons. For Southern Arkansas (3-9, 0-2) this is now their seventh game in a row in which they have not won a set.

"Overall we won in three and we finished when we needed to finish," Ouachita head volleyball coach Allison Frizzell-Kizer said. "We finished plays when we needed too, we blocked when we needed too and because of that we are now 2-0 in conference play."

The first set was tight between the two schools, with each team hardly holding an advantage over the other. With the first set tied at 12 all the Tigers reeled off three consecutive points to take the advantage. The Muleriders kept hanging around though and eventually took the lead back at 19-18. Once again the two programs did not yield an inch on either side, but a Paige Williams (Springdale, Ark.) kill at 23 all gave the Tigers the defining moment of the first set.

If there was any doubt that the Tigers might have come into the match showing signs of fatigue after a five match week, they proved any doubter wrong with a first set victory.

"A five game week is stressful on the mind, on the legs and on the arms, but we came in and we refocused on the new week and trying to win every match." Frizzell-Kizer replied after the game.

Early on in the second set the Tigers and Muleriders stayed close early on, going point-for-point with one another. Tied at 15 it appeared that the set might be another nail biter, but then the Tigers offense came alive as they closed out the frame on a 10-2 run. Ouachita had their best hitting performance of the night with a .258 clip in the second stanza.

In third period it was all Ouachita as the Tigers pounced on the Muleriders early and often. A pair of 4-0 runs helped cement the Tigers lead as they took the third and final frame 25-19 in front of a rambunctious crowd.

Ouachita setter Stormi Leonard (Decatur, Texas) made sure to spread the wealth around tonight with 33 assists. Williams tied with Adrianna Nolly (Denton, Texas) for the team lead in kills with nine and All-Tournament performer Katie Camp (Plano, Texas) collected six kills on the night.

"I think Stormi [Leonard] is doing a great job of spreading the ball around at the net." Frizzell-Kizer responded, "Paige [Williams] came out and hit well for us, to have nine kills from an outside hitter is exceptional for us."

They were not the only Tigers to play exceptional as Frizzell-Kizer referred to her back line as "scrappy" after the game. Julianna Mack (Little Rock, Ark.) lead the team in digs with 22, while Hannah Johnston (Greenwood, Ark.) was two digs away from double-digits.

The Tigers will face preseason favorite Arkansas Tech on the road this coming Thursday. It will be Ouachita's first road conference match of the season and it is a massive opportunity for the Tigers to stay atop the Great American Conference standings.

"I told them in the locker room to enjoy the win tonight and tomorrow will regain our focus on Arkansas Tech." Frizzell-Kizer said, "It's good to celebrate the wins, but to move on we need to work on the things that were exploited tonight. We are very excited about being 2-0 in conference and we are working to get better each and every day."