Muskogee was unable to overcome Frontier Conference foe Broken Arrow, falling 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-16) at home Tuesday night.

“Playing experience is a difference,” said Muskogee head coach John Hammer. “Every player on the teams in our conference play year round on club teams against some of the best teams in the country.”

In the first set, Broken Arrow used a 13-3 run to bury the Lady Roughers in a 14-5 hole they were never able to bounce back from. Muskogee rallied and closed the deficit to five points at 15-10, but the Lady Tigers countered and pushed the lead back to 19-10.

“We’re learning that you’re going to have moments when teams go on runs,” said Hammer. “When teams get that kind of momentum it’s hard to beat that.”

Muskogee (0-2) started out strong in the second set jumping out to a 5-1 lead, but it was short lived as Broken Arrow rallied to take an 8-7 lead. The Lady Tigers then later used a 9-1 run to stretch the lead out to 20-10.

The third set saw Broken Arrow (2-0) go on another huge run, this time running off nine straight points to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 13-6 lead before the Lady Roughers finally scored on a service error by Broken Arrow’s Karson Langel. Muskogee rallied to cut the Lady Tigers lead to 14-10, but a 7-0 run basically put the set out of reach at 20-10.

Senior Galen Jernigan led Muskogee with 13 kills. Sarah Stotts had 12 assists and Chloe Ford added four blocks.

“We are getting better, it’s just a slow process,” said Hammer. “I would like for it be faster and the girls would like for it to be faster, but we have to look at where we started and where we are now. I’m happy with where our girls are at.”

Muskogee will try to get its first win Thursday when it takes on Union at home. The Redskins will come in at 2-0 after wins against Norman and Owasso.

“On thing the girls won’t do is quit,” said Hammer. “They understand how difficult our conference is, but they’re not scared.”