CONWAY, Ark. – Henderson State's hiatus from conference play proved productive as the Reddies defeated the Central Baptist Mustangs, 25-13, 20-25, 25-14, 25-15.
 
Christiane Uzoh led the Reddies with nine kills while freshman Andrea Roland and Mya Robinson followed that effort with six winners. True freshman Larkin Luke held a .571 attack percentage with five kills in her best match as a member of HSU.
 
Makenzie Thoman registered a match-high 18 digs in the contest, moving into a tie for seventh all-time in digs, tying Sydney Skelton with 1523 digs.
 
SET ONE
Central Baptist was able to keep it close early on, even seeing a slight lead at 4-3 before the Reddies turned it on. From there, HSU went on a 10-1 run to take the 13-5 advantage. The eight-point lead remained at 19-11 before Henderson put it away with a 6-2 run to see the first set win, 25-13.
 
The difference in attack percentage highlighted the first set, with HSU hitting .357 compared to CBC's .028 attack percentage.
 
SET TWO
From there, head coach Phil McDaniel began to let the non-starters see some action. Henderson still had the edge, jumping out to a 6-3 lead. From there, the Mustangs began their climb, though, taking over the match at 10-8.
 
Central Baptist was able to break through and even the set count at one apiece, closing out the frame on a 4-0 run thanks to back-to-back kills from the Mustangs, a service ace and an attack error from the visiting team.
 
SET THREE
McDaniel decided to put his starters back in for set three and it showed, as HSU hit .450 compared to CBC's .030 for the 25-14 victory to take a 2-1 match lead. Violeta Mendoza Quintana saw all four of her kills come in the third.
 
SET FOUR
Henderson put the match away in the fourth set, claiming the set in quick order with a 10-0 run to open things up in route to a 25-15 final-set count. Despite only hitting .030 for the visiting Reddies, HSU held CBC to its lowest attack percentage of the match at -.062.
 
Next up for Henderson State (14-4, 3-2) is its first match against an Oklahoma GAC opponent since 2019 when Southwestern Oklahoma State comes to the Duke Wells Center Thursday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in what will also be Protect and Serve Night for HSU.