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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Henderson State, currently tenth in the conference, will travel to the Sooner State to face Oklahoma Baptist University and Southern Nazarene University in back-to-back GAC matches. The Reddies will square off against the Bison Thursday at 6 p.m. and battle the Crimson Storm Friday at 4 p.m.
 
Henderson State (7-10, 1-4)
The Reddies will look to regroup against OBU and SNU after suffering three consecutive defeats. This is only the third time since 2017 that HSU has lost three GAC matches in a row during the season.  
 
Henderson leads the league averaging 18.13 digs per set with a total of 1106 for the season. Sophomore libero Trinity Sharp is seventh on the GAC digs leaderboard, averaging 4.13 per set, and has 252 total digs, which is fifth most in the conference.
 
Sophomore setter Madison Hatt continues to be the engine in attack after tallying 20 assists against Southern Arkansas, bringing her total to 311. Christiane Uzoh and Aleah Stogner find themselves on the receiving end of Hatt's sets, racking up 164 and 112 kills, respectively. Uzoh is ranked tenth on the GAC leaderboard in both kills and points scored.
 
In the short history between the two sides, Oklahoma Baptist leads the series over Henderson 4-3. In the most recent meeting, the Bison defeated the Reddies 3-1 in the Duke Wells Center. HSU has faced OBU three times in Shawnee, Okla., and escaped with a victory just once. 
 
Henderson has played Southern Nazarene nine times since their first match in 2012. SNU and HSU are tied 5-5 in head-to-head matchups. The last time Henderson went to Bethany, Okla. to battle Southern Nazarene was in 2019 when they defeated the Crimson Storm 3-2.
 
Scouting Oklahoma Baptist
The Bison, 10-8 overall, enter the match against the Reddies in second place in the conference, 4-1. OBU's lone loss was in the conference opener to East Central University, who defeated Oklahoma Baptist 3-0. Since the loss, the Bison have won 12 of the last 14 sets played.
 
The Oklahoma Baptist attack is led by junior outside hitter D'Erricka Frierson, who has tallied 59 kills in GAC matches and 158 overall. Redshirt freshman Jill Leslie has 38 kills in conference matches, third most on the team, hitting .353 in league matches which is third best in the conference.  
 
Avery Hellmuth leads the Bison defense with 11 solo blocks and 53 block assists, combining 64 total blocks. In GAC matches, the junior is averaging 1.24 a set which is the best in conference play. 
 
Scouting Southern Nazarene
The Crimson Storm sits eighth in the GAC standings with two victories and three defeats. SNU split their last two matches against Oklahoma Baptist and out-of-conference Newman. After losing the first set, the Bison rallied to defeat the Crimson Storm 3-1. Southern Nazarene rebounded in their last match, sweeping Newman.  
 
Sunny Batschelett scored 16 kills against OBU and 13 during the Newman match, leading the team in kills in both matches. The middle blocker has tallied 174 kills, 62 of those coming in conference matches. Batschelett ranks eighth in kills per set, averaging 2.90 a frame, and is seventh in points, scoring 200.5 in 60 sets.
 
Baily Grimes and Whitney Bowie lead the Crimson Storm's defense. The senior and sophomore middle blockers are sixth and seven, respectively, on the block leaderboard. Grimes has accumulated 48 total blocks, averaging 0.94 a set, while Bowie has recorded 55 total blocks and averages 0.92 per set. 
 
What to Watch For…
-Henderson has won the last two meetings against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla., winning six sets out of nine. The Reddies got their first win over Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee, Okla. last season, defeating the Bison 3-1. Henderson struggled early on in the Sooner State but has found recent success over the last three seasons.