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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – After winning seven of its first nine non-conference matches to start the season, Henderson State finds itself in second place among the Great American Conference with No. 12 Oklahoma Baptist currently holding the top spot.
 
The Reddies move to their conference opener against an all-too familiar foe as HSU battles the Tigers of Ouachita Baptist from across the street on Tuesday, Sept. 14 in the first installment of the Battle of the Ravine of the 2021-22 year across all sports. First serve inside the Sturgis Physical Education Center is set for 6 p.m.
 
Henderson State (7-2, 0-0)
The Reddies are coming off a 3-1 stint at the Kentucky Wesleyan Tournament, posting sweeps of Kentucky Wesleyan and Lee while defeating Montevallo, 3-1. With those three victories, HSU tied its best start through nine matches under head coach Phil McDaniel.
 
Henderson has shown to be led on the attacking end by Mya Robinson and Violeta Mendoza Quintana. Both girls are averaging over three kills per set, with Robinson holding a team-high 101 kills through nine matches. Both outside hitters are hitting over .250 for the season.
 
Christiane Uzoh has been the most efficient hitter for HSU this season, registering a .392 attack percentage on 125 total attacks. With the Reddies having five girls hitting over .210 on a minimum of 75 total attacks, Henderson as a team is hitting .239, which is second-best in the league.
 
Makenzie Thoman moved into eighth on the all-time digs list in HSU history over the weekend, surpassing Lataria Andrews as the junior libero currently sits at 1336. Next in line to be overtaken by the O'Fallon, Missouri, native is Sydney Skelton with 1523.
 
Taylor Scalzi is filling the void left by setter Abby Blackburn nicely, giving HSU 153 set assists as she is averaging 5.10 assists per set. Sclazi is currently tenth all-time with 1514 assists for her career. Freshman Madison Hatt has added some depth to that position as she has seen 110 set assists through the season's nine matches.
 
Henderson State leads the overall series against the Ouachita Baptist Tigers, 32-22. The Reddies have won four of the last six meetings against OBU, including last season's 3-1 victory on senior night. The last match played on OBU's home court, however, went the Tigers' way, 3-1.  
 
Ouachita Baptist (3-5, 0-0)
The Tigers have won back-to-back matches with their most recent victory coming against Texas Woman's University, 3-1, as a part of the Pioneer Invitational. Kayla Steinmeyer had a match-high 15 kills in the win while Lexie Castillow registered 23 digs.
 
Castillow was awarded the GAC Defensive Player of the Week for her week-long performance over the last seven days. In OBU's last five matches, the senior libero has accumulated 124 digs. The Tigers went 3-2 over that span.
 
Rileigh Fielder is leading her squad with 73 kills, followed by EJ Day with 60 kills. Attack percentage wise, Emily Low heads up the effort, hitting .242 for the season. Steinmeyer is right behind Low with .240.  
 
What To Watch For…
-The Reddies have won three consecutive conference openers. They are currently sporting their longest streak of conference-opener wins since the formation of the GAC in 2011 and their longest as a program since 2007 when they won eight straight conference-openers.
 
-Henderson has already posted six sweeps this season, marking the earliest HSU has hit this feat in program history. The Reddies posted 18 sweeps in the regular season in 2018 before finishing as runners-up in the conference tournament.