ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State opened conference play with a statement win, serving up a sweep against arch rival Ouachita Baptist, 25-21, 25-15, 25-20.
 
Kaitlyn Sykes played one of her best matches as a Reddie, pulling through with six kills on nine total attacks while delivering a career-high seven blocks. Brae Denton backed up her defensive counterpart with six blocks, including one solo rejection.

This win marks the fourth consecutive conference opener HSU has won, marking the longest streak for the Reddies since being a part of the Great American Conference.
 
SET ONE
Ouachita had things going in the early on, putting together the first three points of the match before a Brae Denton and Christiane Uzoh block got things going for the Reddies. Henderson brought it back to a deadlock at 4-4, after which both teams alternated points as there were 12 ties throughout the first half of the set.
 
A Violeta Mendoza Quintana kill gave the HSU its first lead at 10-9 for a brief moment before OBU took a 14-12 advantage, leading head coach Phil McDaniel to call a timeout. The Reddies used that stoppage of play to their advantage, going on a 7-3 run, pulling HSU ahead 19-17 before it was OBU's turn to call time.
 
Henderson kept up the momentum, rattling off six of the next ten points, including two of Mendoza Quintana's four first-set kills and culminating in a Sykes and Robinson block, to take the opening frame, 25-21.
 
SET TWO
The Reddies got into a bit of a groove after that first set, opening the second stint with a 9-5 lead before the Tigers were forced to call a timeout with the match in danger of slipping away. Stout defense and great hitting guided the Reddies the rest of the way, as the visiting team took the 2-0 lead with the 25-15 second set victory.
 
Henderson saw 10 blocks in the second frame, holding Ouachita to a -.063 attack percentage with itself hitting .296. Sykes saw four of her seven total blocks come in the second set.  
 
SET THREE
The home crowd came alive to start the third set as OBU was able to keep it close early one with the match seeing a 5-5 tie before HSU quieted the Tiger faithful. With a 5-1 run, HSU took a 10-6 lead before Ouachita called its first timeout of the set to stop the bleeding.
 
In the end, the Reddies proved to be too much for its cross-street rival, overcoming the rowdy home crowd for the 25-20 final dagger thanks to a .240 attack percentage compared to a .100 attack percentage for the Tigers.
 
Henderson St. (8-2) will take its final extended break from conference play when it hosts the Reddie-Tiger Invitational Sept. 17-18, with HSU's first match coming Friday at 5:30 p.m. against the Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks.