SEARCY – The Harding women’s volleyball team earned its third straight trip to the Gulf South Conference Tournament championship match with a convincing 3-0 win over Central Arkansas, Saturday in the semifinals. Game scores were 30-20, 30-21, 30-18.

 

Harding, which improved to 33-3 on the season, will meet a familiar foe in the finals. North Alabama, ranked fourth in the latest AVCA national poll, qualified for the finals with a 3-0 win over Alabama-Huntsville earlier in the day. Harding and North Alabama have met in the finals each of the last two years and will meet again Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons won the championship in 2003 with a 3-1 win, and UNA took the title last year, also by a 3-1 score.

 

By virtue of reaching the championship, Harding and North Alabama are locks to make the NCAA II tournament which begins Thursday or Friday at a site to be determined.

 

Junior Katie Westmoreland led the Harding attack against Central Arkansas, pounding out 14 kills. She opened with four kills in game one as the Lady Bisons hit .312 and registered six service aces, four by Tiffany Morrison. Morrison’s second kill ended game one at 30-20.

 

Game two was tied at 11 before Harding reeled off six of the next eight points. Westmoreland and Morrison combined for 11 of the Lady Bisons’ 15 kills in the game and Westmoreland’s sixth ended the game at 30-21. Harding duplicated its .312 hitting percentage and limited UCA to only .182.

 

Harding trailed for the first time in game three but rallied to tie the score at 10. Synda Veitenheimer’s kill on the next point gave the Lady Bisons the lead for good. Harding led 22-18 and Veitenheimer served the next eight straight points to give the Lady Bisons the win. Morrison had four kills on five attacks in the game, include the match-winner.

 

Central Arkansas (24-14) struggled with its passing and setting throughout the match. The Sugar Bears allowed 11 Harding service aces, led by Morrison with five. UCA also had 12 ball-handling errors, 11 by setter Tassia Pavilhao. Stefanie Sloan and Sallye Cockrell each had nine kills to lead UCA.

 

Harding hit .344 for the match after notching a .423 percentage in game three. Morrison ended the match with 11 kills and Veitenheimer had 10. Meredith Rosenbaum led the Harding defense with 10 of the Lady Bisons’ 25 digs.