Libby Merritt finished with a match-high 21 kills, while hitting .500 as the Ouachita Baptist volleyball team defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State, 3-1, Saturday morning at the Sturgis Center.
Merritt had 21 kills on 34 attempts with four errors in helping lead the Lady Tiger offense. Ouachita fell behind in the first game and couldn’t recover, losing to the Lady Bulldogs, 25-22. But the Lady Tigers (5-16), who had won two out of their last three matches, took the match with scores of 25-20, 25-18, 25-20.
Besides Merritt’s total, Meredith Henry added 10 kills and hit .421, along with five block assists. Lexie Hegi recorded 45 assists. Defensively, Raichel Settle finished with 21 digs, while Lauren Stuart and Kristyn Howk chipped in with 17 and 11, respectively. Lindsey Pry came off the bench to spark the defensive effort with four block assists.
Jennifer Naramore and Kacia Sanburg each had 15 kills for Southwestern Oklahoma State (7-11). Kristen Kaufman added 34 assists and 14 digs. Kayla Bader finished with 21 digs and Staci West had 13.
Ouachita returns to Gulf South Conference West Division play 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9 at Southern Arkansas.