MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Harding volleyball team opened the 2014 campaign on Friday at the Christian Brothers Tournament with two wins. The Lady Bisons defeated Lindenwood 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13) and Alderson Broaddus 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-15).
It's the first time since 2011 Harding had opened its season with two wins.
Match 1 – Harding vs. Lindenwood
The Lady Bisons found themselves down after the first set but bounced back to take a 2-1 after winning the next two sets. Lindenwood tied the match at two, winning the fourth set 25-19 but Harding won the fifth set 15-13.
The Lady Bisons were led by senior outside hitter Marindia Turner who captured a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs. Senior outside hitter Erica Heim led the Harding defense with a career-high 17 digs. Senior setter Taryn Eubank also had a double-double with 44 assists and 13 digs. Senior middle blocker Liv Savage had 12 kills and six blocks.
Lindenwood was led by Jessica Krygsheld who had 21 kills and nine digs. Shannon Doyle had 10 kills and 16 digs. Anne Reichert led the Lady Lions defense with 18 digs. Sarah Makowski had 10 blocks for Lindenwood.
Neither team hit well in the game. Harding had 55 kills on 168 attempts with 31 errors for a .143 hitting percentage and Lindenwood had 53 kills on 160 attempts with 27 errors for a .162 hitting percentage.
The Lady Lions had 16 total blocks and the Lady Bisons had 10.
Match 2 – Harding vs. Alderson Broaddus
Harding got its first sweep of the season in the second match of the day against Alderson Broaddus. The Lady Bisons jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set and didn't look back.
Harding was led by Savage who had 13 kills and Turner who had nine and Heim who had eight.
The Lady Bisons hit .411 in the match which was the first time since 2012 Harding has hit over .400 (.413 against Arkansas-Monticello).
Junior defensive specialist Bianca Trevino and sophomore defensive specialist Anna Leigh Cargile both had 10 digs to lead the Harding defense.
Harding had nine service aces in the match, led by Cargile who had four and Heim who had three.
The Battlers were led by Caitlin Cain who had seven kills and 10 digs.
The Lady Bisons will wrap up their tournament on Saturday as they take on Drury at 2 p.m. and Christian Brothers at 7 p.m. Live stat links are available for both matches on HardingSports.com.
