ADA, Okla. – The Harding volleyball team won its second straight match on Friday as they defeated East Central 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-15) in Great American Conference action. The Lady Bisons improved to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the GAC.
It was Harding's second straight sweep as the Lady Bisons defeated Southern Nazarene 3-0 last Saturday.
It was also Harding Head Coach Meredith Fear's 100th career victory.
Harding was led by senior middle blocker Liv Savage who had 11 kills and five blocks. Senior setter Taryn Eubank had a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Abigail Glosup had 10 digs for the Lady Bisons.
East Central (3-14, 0-6 GAC) had three players with seven kills. The Tigers were led by Sarah Simpson who had seven kills and match-high 17 digs.
After trailing 6-4, Harding went on a 5-0 run led by Savage who had three straight service aces to take a 9-6 lead in the first set. The teams exchanged points before the Lady Bisons then went on a 9-3 run to lead 21-13. Harding had six kills during the run. East Central battled back and pulled within three on a 6-1 run. The Lady Bisons scored the next two points (24-19) but the Tigers wouldn't go away as they scored the next three points (24-22). A kill by Savage gave Harding the set 25-22.
Harding took a 7-2 lead in the second set on three kills and two service aces. East Central fought back to pull within one (12-11) on a 3-0 run on three Lady Bison attack errors. After leading 20-18, Harding went on a 4-2 run on two kills by junior outside hitter Erica Heim and forced two attack errors. The Tigers scored the next three points before the Lady Bisons forced an attack error to extend their match lead to two sets.
Set three was all Harding as they jumped out to a 12-5 lead. East Central pulled within three on a 4-0 run but Harding went on a 10-2 run to lead 22-11. A kill by junior outside hitter Molly Howard gave the Lady Bisons the win.
Harding will be back in action on Saturday as they face Southeastern Oklahoma at 10:30 a.m., in Durant, Okla. The Savage Storm fell to Arkansas Tech 3-1 on Friday.
