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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Henderson State volleyball team gets set for its Great American Conference home opener against the Harding Lady Bisons on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m. inside the Duke Wells Center.
 
REDDIES REPORT
HSU (9-4, 1-0) finished 2-2 in the Reddie-Tiger Invitational with back-to-back sweeps of Christian Brothers and Union before falling to Alaska Anchorage and Truman State by scores of 3-1. Christiane Uzoh and Larkin Luke were named to the All-Tournament team with their performances over the four matches.
 
Uzoh spearheaded the attack with a team-high 42 kills on 108 attacks and had double-figure kills in three of the four matches. Luke had another big weekend at the net with 12 total blocks -  including five against Truman State - and 20 kills. In addition, the pair combined for 23 digs over 19 sets.
 
In Tuesday's match against Harding, the HSU defense will face one of its toughest challenges this season so far. While the Reddies have been holding their opponents to a league-low .107 attack average, they will have to slow down a Lady Bisons attack that is averaging a GAC-best 12.70 kills per set on a .184 attack percentage.
 
Through the first 12 matches, the Reddies have limited opposing attacks to 10.46 kills per set and have forced the second most errors in the league (296). Helping slow down the opposition's offenses have been middle blocker Luke and libero Trinity Sharp. Luke ranks fifth in the GAC in blocking, averaging .089 bps, and 39 total blocks, while Sharp is leading the conference with 4.80 digs per set.
 
Henderson State and Harding will take the court for the 60^th time in Tuesday's contest. HSU has fared better when facing the Lady Bisons in Arkadelphia, as the Reddies are 17-20 on the home court versus 0-20 on the road. This season, HSU is 6-2 at home.
 
SCOUTING HARDING
The Lady Bisons (6-7, 1-0) resume GAC action after participating in the McKendree Tournament, where they went 0-4. HU faced its third top-20 team over the weekend against No. 5 Missouri-St. Louis, who defeated the Lady Bisons 3-1. Earlier this year, HU defeated then No. 15 Northwest Missouri in four sets during the Washburn Invitational before No. 17 Washburn bested Harding 3-0.
 
Leading the charge for the Lady Bisons are outside hitters Skyler McKinnon and Chloe Ingersoll. S. McKinnon leads the team with 131 kills on a .260 attack percentage, while Ingersoll is hitting .135 with 124 kills. The pair are averaging a combined 2.93 kills per set and pace an attack that ranks first in the GAC in kills per set. 

The Harding defense ranks third in the GAC in blocking with 2.07 blocks per set and has four players with 20.0 or more blocks, led by Libby Hinton who has 38.0. Hinton had 18.0 total blocks during the McKendree Tournament, including nine against Maryville in the final match of the invitational.