ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State closed out the 2021 Reddie-Tiger Invitational with victories over Auburn-Montgomery and Mississippi College as it went undefeated through the tournament.
 
Violeta Mendoza Quintana registered 32 kills on the day while Makenzie Thoman accumulated 55 digs in the two contests. Taylor Scalzi moved into ninth all-time for set assists with 1601 after picking up 70 helping hands over the weekend, including seeing a double-double against AUM on the second day with 25 assists and 11 digs.
 
Henderson State 3, Auburn-Montgomery 1
The Reddies defeated Auburn-Montgomery in the first match of the day, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18. Mendoza Quintana had a double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs while Robinson claimed her own double-double with 14 kills and digs each.
 
Thoman gave the Reddies 27 digs through the four-set match while Madison Hatt saw her first double-double of her HSU career with 18 assists and 10 digs.  
 
SET ONE
With the two squads having played one another 18 hours earlier, the match started with the teams alternating points until the scoreboard showed 6-6 and then 12-12 with five lead changes through the first half of the set.
 
With the set seeing six score ties the rest of the way, at 22-all, the Reddies scored the final three points of the frame thanks to a kill from Kaitlyn Sykes, a Warhawks attack error and a service ace from Hatt to take the opening set, 25-22.  
 
SET TWO
In a similar way to yesterday's match, Henderson came out firing, building a 13-7 advantage before AUM rattled off three points to close the gap at 13-10. With the score getting as close as 16-15 in favor of the home team, the Reddies went on their own 4-0 run to take a commanding 20-15 lead.
 
Despite Auburn-Montgomery tying the match one final time at 20-20, a 5-2 run from HSU closed the deal on the second frame, 25-22. Mendoza Quintana saw five kills in the win.
 
SET THREE
As was the case in the first meeting between these two programs, AUM refused to be sent home early, fighting its way to a third set victory. Off a 6-3 start, HSU was able to see one lead at 21-20 before the Warhawks went on a 5-2 run to close the set and, for the second day in a row, extend play to a fourth set.
 
SET FOUR
The story of the match came when Auburn-Montgomery held a 17-16 lead when, after a Warhawk service error, sent Scalzi to the service line with the match at a deadlock, 17-17. Three straight aces from the junior out of Flower Mound, Texas, ignited the home crowd and lifted the Reddies in what would wind up being an 9-1 run as Henderson took the overall match, 25-18.
 
Henderson State 3, Mississippi College 1
Mendoza Quintana once again led her team with 17 kills with a .308 attack percentage while Mya Robinson saw her second double-double of the day with 16 kills and 16 digs. As a team, Henderson St. hit .253 in the triumph compared to .158 from Mississippi College.
 
If a career match in the first contest of the day was not enough, Hatt improved on her performance after seeing her second double-double of the day, delivering 19 assists and 11 digs. True freshman Lexi Turner saw her first kills of her career, coming through with a pair of winners.
 
Henderson State (11-2, 1-0) returns to conference play with Arkansas Tech on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. in Russellville, Arkansas, before coming back to the Duke Wells Center against Harding on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m.