Frizzel-Kizer era begins for OBU volleyball team
ARKADELPHIA — The Ouachita Baptist volleyball team begins the 2018 campaign with a trip to the University of Alabama in Huntsville for a tournament today and Saturday.
“Our girls are excited to play somebody besides themselves so I am ready to see how we all connect and begin to grow as a team on the court,” said Ouachita volleyball coach Allison Frizzell-Kizer. “Expectations tend to change throughout the season but initially my expectations start defensively and then work forward.
“We are scrappy defensively and we are going to use that to our advantage in those long rallies that seem to never end. Offensively, we are smart and see the court well and that will just continually improve as we grow confident in our system.”
The Tigers finished 19-12 overall and 9-7 in Great American Conference play last season. Ouachita is led by a core group of upperclassmen in Nikki Clay, from Bryant; Stormi Leonard, from Decatur, Texas; Adrianna Nolly, of Denton, Texas; Madison Wilson, of Sanger, Texas; Tabatha
Huckabee, from North Richland Hills, Texas; Katie Camp, of Plano, Texas; and Tori Barnhill, of Lonoke.
The group has already compiled a program record 57 wins over a three-year period.
“I am expecting our upperclassmen to lead by example and pull our freshmen as we grow,” Frizzell-Kizer said. “As a whole we are motivated to continually improve every day and come off the court better than we went on and so far, they are exceeding that expectation.”
Leonard and Nolly traveled to Brazil this summer as they competed on the USA D-2 volleyball team. Leonard, a three-time All-GAC selection, finished last season with a team leading 1,206 assists and averaged 10.58 assists per set last year. She has amassed 3,430 assists in her career thus far, which places her second all-time in the GAC. The junior is also second all-time in assists per set with a 10.66 average.
Nolly finished her sophomore season leading the team in hitting percentage at .327 and blocks with 91. The former GAC Freshman of the Year was named to her second All-GAC team last season. She has 505 kills and 156 blocks in her career.
Ouachita has an 8-3 record in three previous appearances in Huntsville since the start of the 2010 season. The Tigers are scheduled to open the season at 10 a.m. against Auburn University at Montgomery.
The Warhawks are entering just their second year of NCAA Division II competition after going 9-21 overall and 1-15 in the Gulf South Conference a year ago. Ouachita’s second opponent is Lemoyne-Owen, which finished 22-10 in 2017.
Ouachita is scheduled to face old Gulf South rivals West Georgia and Huntsville on Saturday. Huntsville was 23-12 after finishing third in the Gulf South a year ago.