ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – After a grueling stretch with three of its last four matches going five sets, Henderson State got a much-needed 3-0 sweep against Southern Nazarene, 25-21, 28-26, 25-12.
 
The Reddies posted one of their best hitting matches of the season, carrying a .319 attack percentage throughout, including hitting .500 in the third and final set. Three players for HSU hit better than .300 in the victory.
 
Violeta Mendoza Quintana was dominant on the night as she hit .536 on 28 total attacks, finishing with 16 kills to only one error. She also accumulated 11 digs for her second double-double in as many matches.
 
Kaitlyn Sykes put together one of her best attacking matches of the season, giving HSU eight kills on a .333 attack percentage with two blocks.
 
SET ONE
Henderson exploded out of the gate for a 7-1 lead before the Crimson Storm could even blink, in thanks partly to two of Sykes' eight overall kills. Southern Nazarene was able to climb back, however, and cut the deficit to two at 10-8.
 
The Reddies never allowed the set to get closer than two points the rest of the way as the Reddies opened the night with a 25-21 first-set win to take the 1-0 lead.
 
SET TWO
In the most competitive frame of the night, both teams were locked in, with each side hitting better than .300 in the race to 25. After HSU built a 22-17 lead in what looked like a precursor to a 2-0 lead, the Crimson Storm fought back yet again, bringing the score to a tie at 23-23.
 
With both squads alternating the next four points, two-straight service errors from the visiting Crimson Storm gave Henderson match point at 27-26. Christiane Uzoh took advantage, delivering the final kill to give HSU the 28-26 nod.
 
SET THREE
Southern Nazarene kept the fight through the early part of the frame, even seeing a 5-3 head start, before Phil McDaniel's group slammed the door shut. A 6-0 run, during which Madison Hatt registered back-to-back-to-back points off a pair of service aces and a kill, put Henderson ahead 9-5.
 
Later on, HSU turned a 12-9 lead into a 20-9 lead, thanks to four attack errors from the Crimson Storm and three of Mendoza Quintana's 16 kills. That was all she wrote as the Reddies came away with 25-12 victory to claim its first sweep since Sept. 28.
 
Henderson State (17-7, 6-5) will return to the Natural State when it takes on Harding in Searcy, Arkansas, Thursday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.