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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – After posting a 1-1 weekend, Henderson State remains in sixth place in the Great American Conference standings. At 5-4 in conference play, HSU is one match back of fifth-place Harding and two matches back of Southwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Baptist, who occupy fourth and third place, respectively.
 
The Reddies have a massive opportunity to make up some ground on the league's Top-5 when they host No. 23 Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. inside the Duke Wells Center before welcoming in the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene Friday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
 
Henderson State (16-6, 5-4)
It has been a grind as of late for Henderson, with four of its last six matches going five sets, including each of its last three contests. Most recently, the Reddies beat Southeastern Oklahoma St., 3-2, behind Violeta Mendoza Quintana's 21 kills and .340 attack percentage.
 
Mendoza Quintana and Mya Robinson are both averaging a double-double on the season, with the former averaging 12.29 kills and 10.05 digs per match while Robinson is seeing 11.27 kills and 10.5 digs per match. Both outside hitters are Top-5 in total kills in the GAC.
 
Freshman Brae Denton won the GAC Defensive Player of the Week award off of her 19 blocks over the past two matches, including 12 against East Central. Her 12 rejections were the most by an HSU player in a single match since Jessica Moss' 15 in 2012. Denton leads the league with 90 total blocks.
 
Henderson is the only team to find itself in the Top-4 amongst the league in every major team statistical category, yet finds itself outside the Top-4 in team standings. The Reddies still hold their grasp as league-leader in opponent attacking percentage at .126. Going hand-in-hand is HSU's title of being the league-leader in total blocks with 214 (2.55 per set).
 
With Thursday only being the seventh all-time match between HSU and OKBU, the series is split, 3-3. Those three victories for the Reddies, however, have come in the last three meetings as Henderson is sporting a three-match winning streak against the No. 23 Bison. The last time these teams played in Arkadelphia was back in 2018 when HSU won, 3-1.
 
The all-time series between HSU and the Crimson Storm belongs to SNU, with the Bethany, Oklahoma, institution holding the slight edge, 5-4. In the last five matches, Henderson has gotten the edge in four of them, as the Reddies claimed a sweep the last time this matchup took place in Arkadelphia.
 
Scouting Oklahoma Baptist (14-3, 7-2)
Oklahoma Baptist came into this season ranked No. 9 in the country after being ranked second at the close of last year. After two early-season losses, the Bison have won eight of their last nine matches, including posting two straight sweeps of GAC opponents.
 
Middle Blocker Audrey Poupard is a force on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball as she is fourth in the GAC in attack percentage (.312) and leads the league in blocks per set (1.20). As a team, OKBU is first in the GAC in attack percentage (.241) and second in opponent attack percentage (.133).   
 
Scouting Southern Nazarene (7-11, 2-7)
Southern Nazarene has split its last four conference matches as its only GAC wins having come in its last two league contests. Most recently, the Crimson Storm were swept by non-conference opponent Dallas Baptist, 3-0.
 
Whitney Bowie leads her squad with 174 kills while hitting .278. Bailey Grimes holds down the defensive front for SNU, accumulating 71 total blocks on the season. Southern Nazarene as a team is fourth in the GAC in total rejections.
 
What To Watch For…
-Makenzie Thoman, who currently has 1640 career digs, can crack the Top-5 on the all-time digs list Thursday night with just 13 digs, passing Courtney Bolf's mark of 1652.
 
-Taylor Scalzi needs 48 more assists to reach 1839 career assists, which would push her past her former teammate Abby Blackburn on the all-time assists list for eighth most all-time.
 
-With seven regular season matches to go, Henderson needs four more wins to claim its third 20-win season in four years, something the HSU volleyball team has not done since the turn of the century.