ARKADELPHIA, Ark.- Henderson State rallied after going down early to take down Division I University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a five set thriller Wednesday night. Henderson continues to stay undefeated against the Lady Lions at home with a 3-2 victory.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Christiane Uzoh did it all against the Lady Lions, registering a career-high 17 kills, while hitting .378. Uzoh also finished the match leading the team with six blocks – three solo and three assisted.
 
Both Kaitlyn Sykes and Larkin Luke recorded four blocks apiece in the match. Along with Sykes and Luke, Jacey Tupper had two blocks in the final set to help the Reddies pull off the victory.
 
SET ONE
The Reddies found themselves down early against UAPB after a 5-1 start by the Lady Lions. Arkansas-Pine Bluff did not give Henderson a chance to gain the lead in the opening set, holding them to a .188 attack average.
 
A late 6-1 run by the Lady Lions would see out a 25-19 victory in set one, finishing the set with 14 kills and an attack average of .176.
 
SET TWO
Henderson and UAPB battled for the lead in the second set, going back-and-forth, finding themselves deadlocked at 12-12. The Lady Lions took the first sizable lead of the frame going up 18-15, but a 6-0 run by the Reddies put them ahead 21-18.
 
UAPB kept the match close all the way to set point, but a costly set error on the Lady Lions gave Henderson the win in frame two. The Reddies won 25-23 in the closest frame of the match.
 
SET THREE
The Lady Lions jumped to a 9-4 lead over Henderson before HSU responded with a 3-0 run. UAPB kept a favorable lead over the Reddies for the entire frame, only allowing Henderson to get within two points when the score was 10-8.
 
Arkansas-Pine Bluff's late 7-1 run put them ahead 21-12, closing any chance for a Reddie's set-three win. The Lady Lions finished the set with a pair of kills to win the frame 25-16.
 
SET FOUR
With its backs against the wall down two sets to one, Uzoh put the team on her back, willing her team the rest of the match in front of a frenzy crowd. UAPB took an early 2-0 lead, but the Reddies responded with a 3-0 run of their own to take the advantage. The two squads went back and forth before Henderson expanded their lead to 10-5, and HSU carried the momentum and energy from the home crowd to continue to run away from the Lady Lions in set four.
 
The Reddies expanded their lead to 19-9 after a 4-0 run, which included three kills by Uzoh. A pair of back-to-back blocks from junior Jacey Tupper gave Henderson a 23-13 lead. Uzoh's second block of the set would secure a set win for the Reddies, winning the frame 25-14. The sophomore finished the frame with five kills and two blocks. Henderson finished the set with their best attacking percentage of the match with a .371 average.
 
SET FIVE
With all the momentum and the crowd behind them, the Reddies started the frame, outscoring UAPB 4-1. Uzoh was not done yet as she began the frame with a block assist with Kaitlyn Sykes, giving Henderson an early lead, which put the HSU in pole position to win the set.
 
Henderson never relinquished the lead after their early score and continued to dominate the frame. The Reddies held the Lady Lions to a -.154 attack average, while HSU finished the set with a .182 attacking percentage. Uzoh ended the set with three kills and two blocks, setting up the match-deciding fifth-set win, 15-7.
 
Henderson (3-2, 0-0) travels to Owensboro, Kentucky, on Sept. 2-3 to compete in the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational. The Reddies will face Northern Michigan University, Purdue University Northwest, Kentucky State University and Tiffin University (Ohio). First serve of the tournament is 9 a.m. against Northern Michigan.