Box Score

SEARCY – The Harding volleyball team defeated Southwestern Oklahoma St. 3-2 on Thursday in Great American Conference action at the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons improved to 22-7 overall and 12-3 in the GAC.

With the win, the Lady Bisons remain in second place in the GAC standings and will play Southwestern Oklahoma St. next Friday (Nov. 11) in Russellville, Ark., in the first round of the GAC Tournament. Arkansas Tech won the regular season conference championship and will host the tournament.

Harding took the first two sets with ease but allowed Southwestern Oklahoma St., to battle back and tie the match at two. Through the first two sets, HU only had four hitting errors and hit .380 as a team.

In the fifth deciding set, the Lady Bisons trailed 8-4 but rallied off five straight points to take a 10-8 lead. During the run, HU had four straight kills. The Bulldogs didn't go away as they tied the set at 10. The Lady Bisons then had another four straight kills to take a 14-10 lead and didn't look back as they took the set and the match.

Harding was led by sophomore outside hitter Mollie Arnold who captured her 18th double-double of the season and 33rd of her career with 21 kills and 17 digs. It was also the fourth time this season Arnold has had over 20 kills in a match.

Sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Short had a career-high 15 kills. She also led the Lady Bisons in hitting with a .382 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Kalyn Helton was the other HU player in double-figure kills with 12.

The Lady Bisons defense was led by senior defensive specialist Amber Parker who had 23 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Weslynn Williams finished with 11 and senior outside hitter Jordan Smith tied her career-high with 10 digs.

Southwestern Oklahoma St. (9-16, 5-10 GAC) was led by LaKendra Sanders who had 17 kills. Lindsay Dusin finished with a triple-double in the match with 13 kills, 22 assists and 13 digs. It was the first time this season an opposing player has recorded a triple-double. Two more bulldogs captured a double-double in the match. Adriana Rodriguez had 13 kills and 11 digs and Callie Martin had 33 assists and 13 digs.

The Bulldogs defense was led by Sladjana Smiljanic who had a match-high 30 digs.   

Harding led at the net with 6.5 total team blocks. Short led the Lady Bisons with four.

Harding will be back in action on Saturday as they play their final regular season game as they host Southeastern Oklahoma St., at 2 p.m., at the Rhodes Field House. After the match, the Lady Bisons will honor the 2011 seniors - Amber Parker, Alex Smith and Jordan Smith.