After one its biggest weeks in recent memory, the Henderson State volleyball team returns to action this weekend for two Great American Conference home games against teams who are tied for first-place. The Reddies face off against Oklahoma Baptist at 6 p.m. in the Duke Wells Center on Friday night and then turn around and play Southern Nazarene Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in the Dunn Recreation Center.
 
Series:
Henderson played Oklahoma Baptist for the first time ever last season, falling to the Bison in three sets. The Reddies' history with SNU is only slightly more extensive, as the two schools have played just five times, with the Crimson Storm winning all five meetings.
 
Henderson State (8-9) Notes:
 
The Reddies are 3-2 in GAC play through the first five conference games thanks in part to wins last week over Arkansas Tech and rival Ouachita Baptist. Prior to the 2016 season, Henderson had won two GAC games in three years.
 
Two Reddie players were honored on Monday for their efforts last week, as freshman outside hitter Courtney Bolf was named GAC Offensive Player of the Week and freshman setter Haley Higgins was named GAC Setter of the Week.
 
Bolf and sophomore opposite hitter Sharon Tukuaoga are nationally ranked in total kills for NCAA Division II. Bolf's 239 has her ranked 16th in the nation and Tukuaoga's 242 puts her two spots ahead at 14th. The pair continues to lead the GAC in total kills and are second and third respectively in kills per set, with Tukuaoga at 3.72 and Bolf at 3.62.
 
Junior libero Sydney Skelton is 27th nationally in digs with 302 so far this year, which is best in the GAC.
 
Freshman middle blocker Adrianna Hartmann has 60 blocks in her first collegiate season, tied for third-best in the GAC.
 
As a team, Henderson is fourth in the GAC in blocks per set with 1.88 and sixth in kills per set with 12.11.
 
Oklahoma Baptist (10-8) Notes:
 
The Bison come into Saturday's contest tied atop the league standings with Arkansas Tech and Southern Nazarene and hold a 4-1 GAC record.
Oklahoma Baptist is led by sophomore Nicole Fleitman, who has 199 kills on the year and averages 2.99 kills per set, as well as setter Kynnedy Myers, who has 582 assists in 2016.
 
Defensively Cadyn Laing is the stopper at the net for the Bison, as she has 76 blocks on the year and averages 1.13 blocks per set, both of which are second best in the GAC.
 
As a team, OKBU leads the conference in total blocks with 140 and is second in blocks per set with 2.09. They are also first in the GAC in service aces, with 102 overall, averaging 1.52 per set.
 
Southern Nazarene (8-6) Notes:
 
The Crimson Storm, who hold a 4-1 GAC record, share the lead in the conference standings with Arkansas Tech and Oklahoma Baptist. They have swept their last three GAC matches 3-0.
 
Offensively McKayla Benner leads SNU with 118 kills, an average of 2.62 kills per set and a .262 attack percentage. Setter Elyse Berlin has 448 assists to her credit in 2016 and averages 9.95 assists per set.
 
SNU leads the GAC in several categories as a team, including assists per set (12.29) and digs per set (17.77). They are also second in the conference with 13.10 kills per set.