MAGNOLIA, Ark.  – A terrific 18-kill, 17-dig performance from Courtney Bolf gave the Reddies their second win in Great American Conference play, as Henderson State overcame a slow start to take down Southern Arkansas 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21) on Tuesday night.

Henderson (8-8, 2-2) turned to senior Adrianna Hartmann for nine timely kills, as well as six block assists. Taylor Scalzi and Abby Blackburn combined for 38 assists, MaKenzie Thoman led the squad with 19 digs and notched a career-high five service aces, and Matti Fairchild had double-digit digs for the second-straight contest. 

The Reddies return home for the first edition of the 2019 Battle of the Ravine as Ouachita Baptist visits the Duke Wells Center at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

SET ONE
The early action in Magnolia was marked by alternating runs from both teams. After the Reddies took an early 3-1 lead, SAU responded with a 4-0 burst to move in front 5-3. HSU retook the lead however with a 5-0 run, giving the Reddies an 8-5 advantage. With the score 9-8 Henderson, two kills from Bolf jump-started a 6-1 run and opened up the largest lead of the set for HSU, 15-9. Before the Reddies could run away, the Lady Muleriders regrouped and went on a 6-0 run to tie the set 15-15. With HSU clinging to a 19-18 advantage, SAU ripped off another impressive spurt, this time taking seven-straight points to win the opening set 25-19. 

SET TWO
In the second set, it was SAU's turn to erase an early deficit, as the Lady Muleriders used a lengthy 10-3 run to turn an 8-5 deficit into a 15-11 advantage. Following back-to-back points from HSU which made the score 15-13, SAU looked to be in control after a 5-2 spurt put the Lady Muleriders in front, 20-15. The Reddies answered, however, as kills from McKenzie Tuyo, Bolf, and Tyasia McGruder helped HSU even the score at 20-20. Trailing 21-20, Henderson went back to the freshman Tuyo and she delivered three kills in quick succession to put HSU in front, 23-22. A stunned SAU was unable to respond as the Reddies took the set and tied the match, 25-22. 

SET THREE
The longtime Arkansas rivals seemed evenly matched at the beginning of the third set as HSU and SAU alternated the first eight points and played to a 4-4 tie. For the third set in a row, however, it was the Reddies who made an early push as a 6-0 spurt put Henderson in front 11-5. SAU took four of the next five to make it a three-point affair, 12-9, but kills from Hartmann and Bolf put the Reddies back in front by six, 15-9. The Lady Muleriders got no closer than four points the rest of the way, as the Reddies cruised to a 2-1 lead, 25-20. 

SET FOUR
Using the momentum generated from the previous two sets, the Reddies dominated from the start of the fourth frame and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. With HSU up 15-8, Southern Arkansas made its final push, ripping off five-straight points to trim the deficit to 15-13. Unfortunately for the Lady Muleriders, the Reddies remained unfazed, and responded with a 5-0 run of their own to regain a comfortable 20-13 advantage. Bolf, the star of the night for HSU, fittingly put SAU away with the final kill of the night and gave the Reddies their sixth-straight win against the Lady Muleriders, 25-21.