ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After taking two of three in a Mississippi road swing over the weekend, the Reddies return to Great American Conference play on Tuesday evening when they take on Harding in Searcy, Arkansas.
Henderson State (7-6, 1-0) split two five-set matches on Saturday in Clinton, Mississippi, falling to Spring Hill College before bouncing back to beat Mississippi College for the second time this season. HSU wrapped up the road trip with a 3-0 sweep of Division I Mississippi Valley State on Sunday.
The Reddies continue to lean on a balanced attack, as Courtney Bolf (2.9), Sabrina Show (2.8), Adrianna Hartmann (2), McKenzie Tuyo (1.9), and Tyasia McGruder (1.7) all average over 1.7 kills per set. Abby Blackburn is coming off of a fantastic weekend in Mississippi as well, where she set career highs with 48 assists and 19 digs against Spring Hill College.
Scouting Harding (7-5, 0-1)
The Harding Lady Bisons had arguably the most successful season in the history of GAC volleyball in 2018. Not only did the Lady Bisons take the conference crown after a 15-1 mark in the regular season, they also became the first GAC team to win a match at the NCAA Tournament when they shocked No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-25, 15-9). However, Harding now faces the tall task of replacing five All-GAC players including two-time GAC Player of the Year Zoe Hardin.
Harding, like HSU, is coming off a weekend in which it took two out of three matches, grabbing wins over Missouri S&T and Christian Brothers while falling to No. 17 Rockhurst. The Lady Bisons are one of the youngest teams in the GAC this season as the roster is made up of eight freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors. Harding is led by head coach Meredith Fear who is in her eighth season at the helm of the program. She has led Harding to four GAC regular season championships and two GAC tournament championships.
HSU Statistical Leaders:
Senior, Courtney Bolf – 154 Kills
Junior, Abby Blackburn – 304 Assists
Sophomore, MaKenzie Thoman – 255 Digs
Senior, Adrianna Hartmann – 47 Blocks
HU Statistical Leaders:
Freshman, Logan Smith – 122 Kills
Sophomore, Arika Johnson – 218 Assists
Junior, Katherine Cowart – 154 Digs
Sophomore, Cooper Monn – 26 Blocks
Henderson State Milestone Watch
Courtney Bolf's service ace in the Reddies' 3-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State was the 100th of her career. Bolf needs three aces to pass Annick Lagourgue for 10th on the all-time list. Bolf also needs just 12 kills to pass Britnee James for fifth all-time in kills at Henderson State. Finally, Bolf sits just 25 digs behind Carla Silveira and 32 digs behind Lataria Andrews for eighth and seventh on the all-time digs list, respectively.
