SEARCY – The Harding volleyball team looks for their first Great American Conference regular season championship Saturday as they travel to Alva, Okla., to face Northwestern Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. The Lady Bisons head into the match with a 23-6 overall record and a 12-0 GAC record.

Harding sealed the right to host the GAC Tournament (Nov. 15-17) after its win over Arkansas Tech on Tuesday. HU will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament.  The Golden Suns and Southern Arkansas are both tied for second in the GAC standings with both having a 9-2 conference record. The two teams will face each other again Nov. 8 in Russellville. ATU won the first meeting 3-1.

The Lady Bisons are coming off a big win at Arkansas Tech. HU defeated the Golden Suns 3-1 on Tuesday. Two HU players had double-double performances. Junior outside hitter Mollie Arnold had 17 kills and 11 digs and senior setter Amber Schinzing had 46 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Liv Savage led HU at the net with six blocks. HU defeated ATU both times this season.

Arnold leads the Lady Bisons and ranks first in the GAC in kills per set with a 4.00 average. Schinzing also ranks first in the GAC in assists averaging 11.09 per set.

Harding ranks first in the GAC in two categories – opponent hitting percentage (.143) and kills (13.72). The Lady Bisons also rank second in two categories – hitting percentage (.228) and assists (12.73).

Northwestern Oklahoma State is still looking for their first conference win this season (0-12). The Rangers head into the contest with a 1-25 overall record. NWOSU is in their first season as a volleyball program. They are also in their first season in NCAA Division II and in the GAC. The Rangers are led by Lacy Stewart who averages 2.74 kills per set.

The two teams met for the first time in non-conference action earlier this season in Searcy. Harding defeated NWOSU 3-0.