FORT SMITH, Ark. - Henderson State competed in all three sets on Saturday evening against Northwest Missouri State, but the Bearcats proved to be too much, defeating the Reddies 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 24-26) in the final game of the Carr Racop Invitational.

SET ONE: The Bearcats jumped in front 10-5 in the early-going, but the Reddies answered with a 5-0 run to tie things up at 10-10. Northwest Missouri put some more distance between themselves and Henderson with an 8-2 spurt to take a 18-12 lead, but again HSU responded, taking five-straight points to cut the deficit to 18-17. From there it was all Bearcats as they took seven of the final eight points to win the set 25-18 and go up in the match 1-0.

SET TWO: For the second set in a row, the Bearcats got out to a quick lead, going up 11-5 on HSU before extending the advantage up to 19-11. Henderson showed heart, climbing back into the set with a 7-3 run which cut the lead down to 22-18, but Northwest Missouri took the final three points to close it out, 25-18.

SET THREE: Down 2-0 in the match, the Reddies fell behind 11-7 early, but responded by taking six-straight points to go ahead 13-11. The Bearcats took the next two to tie things up, but HSU won three more to stretch the lead to 16-13. Northwest Missouri answered with an 8-2 spurt, which gave them a 21-18 advantage and put the Reddies on the brink of defeat. Henderson rallied to tie it at 23-23 and then at 24-24, but the Bearcats would not be denied, as they finished it off 26-24 to win the match.

Game Notes: Courtney Bolf led HSU with 10 kills, while Sariah Boney had 18 assists and Sydney Skelton had 17 digs. The loss drops Henderson to 6-6 on the season.

Up Next: The Reddies play their second GAC game of the year on Sept. 19 against Arkansas-Monticello at 6 p.m. in Monticello, Arkansas.