HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Emma Reeves had a career-high 21 kills to lead the Harding volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-13) win over Northwestern Oklahoma in the first round of the Great American Conference Tournament.  

Harding advances to the semifinals and will face No. 4 seed Ouachita Baptist Friday at 6 p.m., in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The Lady Bisons improve to 23-7 overall and Northwestern Oklahoma ends its season with a 23-7 record.

FIRST SET

Trailing 8-5, Harding went on a 9-2 run to lead 14-10. Leading 20-17, Harding had five straight kills to win the set 25-17. Harding had 20 kills in the set and hit .409.

SECOND SET

Northwestern Oklahoma battled to a 17-14 lead until Harding tied the set at 18. The Rangers won the next three points and didn't look back as they won 25-22. Northwestern Oklahoma had 20 kills and forced Harding to hitting .179.

THIRD SET

Harding jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the third set until Northwestern Oklahoma battled back to lead 15-14. Leading 21-19, Northwestern Oklahoma won four of the next five points to win the set 25-21. The Rangers forced eight Harding attack errors in the set.

FOURTH SET

Northwestern Oklahoma took a 7-3 lead in the fourth set until Harding went on a 7-1 run to lead 10-8. The Lady Bisons only allowed the Rangers to score eight more points as they won the set 25-16. Harding had 15 kills and hit .262.

FIFTH SET

The fifth set stayed close throughout. Northwestern Oklahoma took a 13-12 lead off a Harding attack error. The Lady Bisons answered back with three straight kills to win the set 15-13. Harding had 12 kills in the set.

STATS

Harding

-          Madison Poen picked up a double-double with a career-high 19 kills and 16 digs.

-          Zoe Hardin, the GAC Player of the Year, had 17 kills and seven blocks.

-          Rachel Heussner had a career-high 65 assists and nine digs.

-          Taylor Lake led the defense with 23 digs. Katherine Cowart had 17 digs and Taylor Eubank had 16.

-          Harding had a season-high 74 kills in the set. The last time the Lady Bisons had over 70 kills in a match was in 2013 when Harding had 81 vs. Ouachita Baptist. It was the 46th time Harding has had over 70 kills in a match in the NCAA era (since 1997).

Northwestern Oklahoma

-          Hannah Williams led Northwestern Oklahoma with 15 kills.

-          Kaydee Honeycutt had 12 kills and seven blocks for the Rangers.

-          Tobi Barker led the defense with 21 digs.