Tuesday night was an extra-special night at the Duke Wells Center as the Henderson State Volleyball team hosted their annual match to help raise awareness and support for all forms of cancer. At the conclusion of the match, the game-worn pink jerseys and three pink volleyballs were auctioned off with the proceeds going to cancer research.
The match itself featured the Lady Reddies (4-15, 0-7 GAC) and the Cotton Blossoms (3-15, 1-6 GAC) of Arkansas-Monticello. UAM would end the night with a four-set victory, 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19).
After dropping the first set 25-22, the Lady Reddies rallied to fight back into the match with a second set victory 25-17.
Similar to the bounce-back from the first to second set, the Lady Reddies rallied during the third set after being down 23-17. Three kills from sophomore outside hitter Ty Lindberg and a service ace by Isis Nero pulled HSU to within two points, 23-21. A kill from UAM's Amy Kleypas momentarily halted the rally and gave the Cotton Blossoms set-point. Consecutive errors by the Cotton Blossoms pulled the Lady Reddies to one-point, 24-23. UAM would wrap up the third set with a kill from Bailie Jedlicka.
The fourth set was close until the Cotton Blossoms extended a slim lead of 20-18 to a 24-18 lead with four unanswered points. The Lady Reddies fought off the first match-point service with a kill from Nero, but UAM's Kleypas hammered home the final kill to give the Cotton Blossoms the win, their first conference win of the season.
For HSU, Lindberg finished with a season-high 26 kills and recorded her eighth double-double of the year as she added 12 digs to her stat sheet. The setter-platoon of Paulina Cross and Brooke Walford was successful again as each dished out at least 20 assists (Cross, 20; Walford 21). As a team, the 50 kills in the four-set match ties a season-high output for the Lady Reddies. They hammered home 50 kills in a five-set victory over NCAA Division-I Arkansas-Pine Bluff back on September 20th.
The Lady Reddies will back on the court in a couple of nights on October 6th as they take the road once more for a conference match against Southern Arkansas. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
