Henderson outlasts OBU in five-set Battle of the Ravine
ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State secured one of the most significant victories of the Phil McDaniel era Thursday with a five-set victory in the first Battle of the Ravine match of the season against Ouachita Baptist at the Duke Wells Center.
Zuzana Ondruskova and Courtney Bolf turned in double-doubles, while Abby Blackburn and Taylor Scalzi combined for 75 assists, as the Reddies
(15-2, 4-0 Great American Conference) notched their 14th consecutive win, 24-26, 25-21, 15-25, 27-25,
15-10. The comeback victory sent the Reddies to the top of the conference standings and continued the program’s best start ever in GAC play. Their
15th victory of the season is the single most in a season since the 2007 campaign when Henderson finished 22-10.
Henderson has not lost in the month of September. Ouachita (11-6, 2-3) has lost three consecutive matches for the first time this season.
The Tigers have not lost three in a row since a tournament at Arkansas Tech in 2017. They have not lost four consecutive matches since 2013.
The Reddies looked to take control of the first set after four kills from Ondruskova had Henderson up, 6-3. The first set remained tightly contested until the Tigers made their move with the set tied,
17-17. Adrianna Nolly hit back-to-back kills and Tabatha Huckabee put the exclamation point on the 3-0 run to give the Tigers the 20-17 advantage en route to taking the first set.
The second frame was marked by mini-runs on both sides. The Reddies got kills from Alex Tyler, Bolf and Tyasia McGruder to break a 7-7 tie and take a 13-9 lead.
A 6-2 run later gave Henderson a 21-18 lead, but Ouachita answered to tie the set at 21-21. The Reddies rolled in the next four points to take the set.
Henderson was unable to carry its momentum into the third set and trailed early, 10-5. Ouachita took control of the set with an 11-3 run to take a
21-10 lead.
The Tigers hit .474 in the third set and collected
18 kills. They did not commit a hitting error in the set en route to a 2-1 lead.
Ouachita continued its push to take an 8-3 lead in the fourth set. The lead increased at 19-13 before Tyler gave Henderson a spark.
Tyler hit three kills in four points as the Reddies gained momentum and fought to within one point at 21-20. The Reddies eventually tied the set, 23-23.
Ouachita twice had match point, but failed to put Henderson away. Bolf tied the set, 25-25, before a center-court kill from Adrianna Hartmann gave the Reddies their first lead of the set. A Ouachita error gave Henderson the set to send the match to a fifth and final frame.
Henderson had the upper hand in the fifth set with support from the home crowd. The Reddies took an 8-3 lead, but the Tigers answered with a
5-1 run.
The hosts regained their composure after a timeout by head coach McDaniel. Hartmann, Bolf and Karlie Greene each hit a kill to push Hender-
son ahead, 12-8. The Tigers pulled within three points before back-to-back kills from Greene gave Henderson the match.
The loss broke a four-match winning streak for Ouachita against its rival. The last three Battle of the Ravine matches have each taken five sets.
Ouachita actually had a better hitting percentage, .266-.238, and the Tigers committed seven less errors than the Reddies. Sophomore libero Julianna Mack recorded a career-high 48 digs.
Setter Stormi Leonard set a new career-high and GAC five-set record 69 assists in the loss. Nolly led the offense with a carer-high 24 kills. It was her third match this season with at least 20 kills. Huckabee registered 15 kills and freshman Emily Low recorded a career-high 13 kills.
Hartman had a season-high 16 kills and a .467 attack percentage. Greene finished with 11 kills.
Blackburn set career highs with 35 assists and 18 digs. Gigi Garramone doubled her previous career high in digs with 39.
Henderson will continue its four-game home stand Monday with a 6:30 p.m. match against Harding (9-6, 4-0).
Ouachita will attempt to break out of its slump with matches against Austin College (7-4, 2-1 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) and Howard Payne University (2-7, 1-3 American Southwest Conference) on Tuesday in Sherman, Texas.