SEARCY – The Harding volleyball team won a nail-biter against Henderson State 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-14, 20-25, 15-11) Thursday in Great American Conference action at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
The Lady Bisons improve to 20-7 overall and 13-1 in the GAC. The Lady Bisons remain in first place in the GAC standings. Harding has already sealed a spot in the GAC Tournament November 8-10 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Harding's 20th win marks the third straight year the Lady Bisons have won 20 or more matches. It was the 19th time Harding has won 20 matches in the NCAA era (since 1997).
Henderson State falls to 23-5 overall and 11-3 in the GAC.
FIRST SET
Trailing 14-9, Harding battled back to pull within two 19-17. The Lady Bisons rallied to tie the set at 23 but two straight points gave Henderson State the set 25-23.
SECOND SET
Trailing 11-7 in the second set, Harding went on a 13-7 run to lead 20-18. Two kills by Zoe Hardin gave the Lady Bisons the set, 25-23.
THIRD SET
Harding jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the third set and didn't look back as the Lady Bisons won the set 25-14.
FOURTH SET
Henderson State jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set. Harding battled back to pull within three, 10-7 but the Reddies answered back with a 7-0 run to lead 17-7. The Lady Bisons tried to mount a comeback but a kill by Zuzana Ondruskova gave Henderson State the set, 25-20.
FIFTH SET
Trailing 9-8, Harding went on a 5-0 run to lead 13-9. The Lady Bisons had a kill by Madison Poen and a block by Poen and Zoe Hardin to win the set 15-11.
STATS
Harding
- Emma Reeves led Harding with 16 kills.
- Zoe Hardin had 15 kills and six blocks.
- Madison Poen had 13 kills and a career-high 22 digs for Harding.
- Emily Smith also had 11 kills and a career-high seven blocks.
- Taylor Lake led the defense with a season-high 34 digs.
- Rachel Heussner captured a double-double with 57 assists and 16 digs. It was the third time this season she has had over 50 assists in a match.
- Harding had a season-high 118 digs in the match. It was the fifth most in the NCAA era.
- Harding also had 13 blocks. It was the sixth time this season the Lady Bisons have had 10 or more blocks.
Henderson State
- Courtney Bolf captured a double-double with 22 kills and 28 digs.
- Zuzana Ondruskova had 13 kills and 21 digs.
UP NEXT
Harding has two GAC matches remaining in the regular season. The Lady Bisons will travel to Arkansas Tech Tuesday (6 p.m.) before hosting Arkansas-Monticello Thursday at 6 p.m. After the match, Harding will recognize its seniors for their contributions to the volleyball program.
