Leonard, Hartmann, Evans among week’s GAC honorees

ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist senior setter Stormi Leonard, Henderson State junior middle blocker Adrianna Hartmann and Ouachita defensive back Keandre Evans were among student-athletes recognized this week by the Great American Conference.

Leonard, of Decatur, Texas, was named the Setter of the Week for the second time this season after becoming the conference’s new all-time leader in assists in a 3-0 victory against Howard Payne (2-13, 1-7 American Southwest Conference) at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. She averaged 11.12 assists per set in four wins last week by Ouachita (16-6, 4-3).

Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Alissa Benson held the previous conference record of 4,142 career assists.

Leonard added to her total on Saturday with 59 assists and 20 digs in a five-set home victory against Oklahoma Baptist (11-12, 4-3) on homecoming. It was her third 50-plus assist performance this season, but it was the first 50-20 match in the league this year.

“Stormi had four great matches this week, including breaking the GAC career assists record and getting Hero Sports Hero of the Week,” said Ouachita volleyball coach Allison Frizzell-Kizer.

“She has been leading our team on and off the floor consistently and her connections with all our hitters have been improving every practice and every game. Hopefully, the connections will increase our momentum as we continue on with our season.”

Leonard currently ranks second in the nation with 8330 assists and only trails No. 20 Wheeling Jesuit’s Stephanie Sylvester by 12 assists. She is ranked

51st in the nation in assists per set with 10.38. Freshman Taylor Scalzi earned a nomination for the award after tallying 52 assists and 20 digs in three matches last week for Henderson (17-3, 6-1). The Reddies suffered their first conference loss on Monday to GAC leader Harding (12-6, 7-0) on Sept.

24 before back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday. Also nominated were Harding’s Rachel Heussner, Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Allie Hoang, Southern Arkansas’ Lexi Cruse and Northwestern’s Kaitlyn Robinson.

Hartmann, of Fredericksburg, Texas, shared Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors with Harding senior Emma Reeves after hitting 37 kills on 55 attacks for a .619 attacking percentage in the three matches last week. She leads the conference with a

.429 attacking percentage this season as the GAC’s only player hitting better than .400.

Ouachita junior middle hitter Adrianna Nolly was also nominated after averaging 4.66 points per set with a.378 attack percentage last week. The other nominees were Northwestern’s Kiauna Clark, Southern Arkansas’ Morgan Gross, Southwestern’s Sofia Gruden and Oklahoma Baptist’s Mikayla Watson.

The Defensive Player of the Week was Harding senior Zoe Hardin. Ouachita junior libero Julianna Mack earned a nomination with two 30-dig matches. Also nominated were Northwestern’s Tobi Barker, Southern Arkansas’ Camryn Bihary and Southwestern’s Kaitlyn Dillon.

The Tigers have a pair of road matches on Friday and Saturday at Southeastern (6-13, 2-5) and East Central (0-19, 0-7), respectively. The Reddies swap

opponents with the Tigers both days in Oklahoma.

Evans, a junior out of Junction City, was named the Defensive Player of the Week in football after leading the Tiger defense with 10 tackles on Saturday in a 24-7 home win against Arkansas Tech (2-3). He sealed the win for Ouachita (50) with a 103-yard interception return for a touchdown late in fourth quarter. Evans added a pair of pass breakups and a second interception for the first multi-interception game of his career.

Henderson linebacker Kahlil Mitchell earned a nomination with seven tackles and a forced fumble for the Reddies (2-3) in a 24-10 win at Southern Nazarene (1-4). The other nominees were Harding linebacker Sam Blankenship, Southwestern cornerback Jalen Carr, Southern Arkansas defensive back Brock Floyd, Southeastern linebacker Seu Luafatasaga, Arkansas Tech linebacker K.J. Reid and East Central lineman Andre Shelton.

Henderson running back Querale Hall was nominated for the offensive award with 15 carries for 85 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Oklahoma Baptist sophomore quarterback Preston Haire and Southern Arkansas junior receiver Jared Lancaster shared Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. Arkansas Tech running back Bryan Allen and Southeastern receiver Jaylen Sims also earned nominations.

Ouachita punter Jake Ford was nominated in special teams after averaging 45 yards Saturday on six punts, including three inside the 20-yard line. The Special Teams Player of the Week was East Central freshman Cameron Jones. Southern Arkansas kicker, Harding punter and kicker Cameron Scott and Northwestern returner Horatio Smith were each nominated.

Henderson is at home this weekend against Oklahoma Baptist (2-3) to celebrate this year’s inductees into the Hall of Honor. Ouachita will travel to Searcy for a top-25 matchup against Harding

(4-1).

The Bisons began the season in the top 10 before a 28-23 home defeat to Southern Arkansas (50). The Tigers are ranked No. 6 in the latest American Football Coaches Association’s Division II poll, while D2Football.com ranked them No. 7.

Both rankings are the highest for Ouachita since moving to Division II in the 1990s. The Tigers have lost their last two games against the Bisons.

Last week did not start great for Ouachita’s women’s soccer team. The Tigers (4-5, 2-2) lost,

4-1, to Southwestern (6-2-1, 4-0) on Thursday before responding with a 2-0 victory against Northwestern

(1-6-1, 1-3) on Saturday. Ouachita forward was nominated for a GAC award with goals in both matches. Oklahoma Baptist junior Ruth King and Southwestern junior Alimata Rabo were named the Co-Offensive Players of the Week. East Central’s Morgan Medina was also nominated.

The Defender of the Week was Oklahoma Baptist senior Jennifer Goethe, Ouachita’s Simone Norvell garnered the only other nomination.

Oklahoma Baptist sophomore Emily Griffith was the Goalkeeper of the Week. Ouachita’s Erin Webster was the only other nominee after registering her third shutout of the season.

Ouachita traveled to Searcy on Tuesday to face Harding before another road match on Thursday at East Central (3-7, 1-3).