SEARCY, Ark. - Henderson State had early leads in the first two sets on unbeaten Harding Tuesday night, but the Lady Bisons proved to be too much, defeating the Reddies 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-14) in the first Great American Conference match for both teams.
SET ONE: Harding took the first three points to open the match, but the Reddies responded quickly with a big 13-4 run to seize a 13-7 lead early. The Lady Bisons, backed by their home crowd, answered with an 8-2 spurt of their own, tying things up 15-15. From there it was a battle, as the two teams traded the next six points. With the score 18-18, Harding began to pull away, as they took seven of the next nine to win the set 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Courtney Bolf and
Violet Williams each had two kills in the set for Henderson, while
Sariah Boney had nine digs.
SET TWO: Henderson again got out to a quick start and took a 6-3 lead to begin the second frame. The lead did not last long, though, as the Lady Bisons came back with a 14-3 run to grab a commanding 17-9 advantage. The Reddies tried to crawl back, scratching together a 6-1 run to narrow the gap to 18-15 and get back in the game, but they would get no closer, as Harding took seven of the next 11 points to pull away and win it 25-19. Bolf and Williams both had three kills in the set, but nine errors hurt the Reddies.
SET THREE: Leading 2-0 in the match, Harding wasted no time in the third, sprinting out to a 9-5 advantage early. Back-to-back kills from Bolf and
Karlie Greene brought the Reddies within two, but the Lady Bisons took four of the next five points to extend their lead out to 13-8 and put Henderson on the ropes. The Reddies tried to answer one last time, but ran out of gas, as Harding finished the game on a 12-6 run to win the set 25-14 and the match 3-0.
Game Notes: Boney had a game-high 21 digs and
Adrianna Hartmann a game-high five blocks to lead Henderson defensively. Bolf led the offensive efforts with eight kills, while Williams chipped in six. Harding's presence at the net was stout, as the Lady Bisons held the Reddies to a hitting percentage of just .008 in the match.
Up Next: The Reddies head to Fort Smith, Arkansas this weekend to play in the Carr Racop Invitational. Henderson begins with two matches on Friday against Missouri Western at 9 a.m. and versus Newman at 2 p.m.
