SHAWNEE, Oklahoma – The Ouachita volleyball team has advanced in the bracket of the 2025 Great American Conference Championship Tournament with a three-set sweep over Southern Arkansas on Thursday at FireLake Arena.

The Tigers will now face No. 5 seed Oklahoma Baptist in the tournament semifinals on Friday. The Bison swept No. 4 seed Arkansas Tech on Thursday in the opening round. First serve on Friday between the Tigers and Bison is set for 5:00 p.m. in Shawnee.

Final set scores in the win over SAU were 25-20, 25-11, and 25-23. With the win, the Tigers improve to 26-4 overall and are one win away from tying the program's single-season record for wins.

The first set against the Muleriders was back and forth with neither team winning more than three rallies in a row until late. SAU (13-19) ran off four in a row to tie the match at 16-all. The Tigers caught fire at the very end, winning five straight to take the early lead in the match.

It was all Tigers in the second set. Ouachita only committed two attack errors in the second frame, while SAU had eight.

The third set was reminiscent of the first with a back and forth rally early and big runs late. SAU rattled off four in a row to take an 18-16 lead. Ouachita later returned the favor with four in a row to go up 22-20. The Tigers extended that momentum and held a 24-21 match point which was enough cushion to hold off a final SAU push.

Three Tigers ended up in double digits in kills, led by Emily Adams and Kailey Thedford with 12 each. Riley Braziel added 11. Courtney Hanson ended with 37 assists and 11 digs for her 20th double-double of the season. Kylie Kisgen and Peyton Church also reached double digits in digs with 13 and 11, respectively.