ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After watching upstart No. 6 seed Southern Arkansas take the first set on Tuesday night, Henderson State kicked into gear and won three-straight frames to defeat the Muleriders 3-1 and advance to the GAC Quarterfinals.
Mya Robinson led the Reddies with 15 kills, while Makenzie Thoman had 17 digs and Abby Blackburn finished with 15 set assists. HSU held SAU to a .067 attacking percentage in the win and forced 36 Mulerider attack errors.
Henderson advances to play No. 2 seed Arkansas Tech at 6 p.m. on Thursday night in Russellville, Arkansas.
SET ONE
Southern Arkansas surprised the Reddies in the back end of the opening set. With SAU leading 18-17 in a tight contest, the Muleriders exploded down the stretch and won the last seven points in-a-row to end the frame on an 8-1 run and win it 25-17 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
SET TWO
HSU responded in the second set and used a 4-0 run with the score knotted at 11-11 to go in front 15-11. The Muleriders attempted to rally and trimmed the Henderson advantage down to 17-16 with a 5-2 spurt, but the Reddies would not be denied and closed the frame on an 8-3 run to win 25-19 and tie the match. Robinson had back-to-back kills to finish the set.
SET THREE
The Muleriders put the pressure on Henderson in the third and opened up an 8-4 lead early. The Reddies regrouped and tied the set up on three different occasions at 8-8, 13-13 and 17-17. After the two sides traded four points to knot the score again, 19-19, HSU put together a big 4-0 spurt behind kills from Kaitlyn Sykes, Violeta Mendoza Quintana and Taylor Scalzi to go in front 23-19. The timely run proved critical for the Reddies, as SAU never recovered and a kill from Brittany Barnekoff moments later allowed Henderson to claim the set, 25-22.
SET FOUR
The Reddies put together a knock out punch in the fourth set and jumped out to a commanding 14-4 lead to open the frame. The Muleriders never recovered from Henderson's haymaker, as HSU led by as many as 14 points and cruised to a comfortable 25-13 win to take the match, 3-1.
