AUSTIN, Texas – The Harding volleyball team opened its 2022 campaign with a pair of wins Friday. The Lady Bisons defeated Edward Waters 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-12) and Dallas Baptist 3-2 (26-28, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 15-11).
Harding improves to 2-0 on the season.
Edward Waters falls to 0-1 on the season and Dallas Baptist falls to 0-1 on the season.
EDWARD WATERS MATCH
FIRST SET
Harding took a 16-7 lead in the first set before Edward Waters battled back to tie the set at 22. The Lady Bisons won the next three points to win the set 25-22. Harding had 15 kills in the set.
SECOND SET
Edward Waters took an early lead in the second set 5-2 before Harding won six of the next seven points to lead 8-6. With the set tied at 16, the Lady Bisons had six kills as they went on to win the set 25-19. Harding had 16 kills in the set and held Edward Waters to hitting .073.
THIRD SET
With Harding leading 7-5 in the third set, the Lady Bisons didn't allow Edward Waters to get any closer than two the rest of the way as Harding won the set 25-12. The Lady Bisons had 17 kills, only three attack errors and hit .368 in the set.
STATS
Harding
- Harding had 48 kills and hit .212 in the match.
- Kelli McKinnon led Harding with 13 kills and four blocks.
- Logan Smith captured a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
- Emma Winiger led the defense with 17 digs.
- Sarah Morehead had 35 assists for the Lady Bisons.
Edward Waters
- Edward Waters had 26 kills and hit .085 in the match.
- Saldy Amparo Smith led Edward Waters with 11 kills and 10 digs.
- Andrea Dias Merced led the defense with 16 digs.
DALLAS BAPTIST MATCH
FIRST SET
The first set stayed close throughout. Trailing 24-23, Harding got back-to-back kills to lead 25-24. Dallas Baptist answered back with a kill and an ace to lead 26-25. Libby Hinton tied the set with a kill for Harding. Dallas Baptist had a kill and a block to win the set 28-26. Harding had 19 kills in the set and hit .260.
SECOND SET
Trailing 11-10, Harding went on an 8-2 run on three kills and two blocks to lead 18-13. Dallas Baptist battled back and pulled within one 24-23 but a kill by Libby Hinton gave Harding the set. The Lady Bisons had 14 kills in the set.
THIRD SET
Harding had the lead in the third set until the end. Trailing 21-18, Dallas Baptist went on a 7-0 run on three kills to win the set 25-21. Dallas Baptist had 17 kills in the set.
FOURTH SET
Down in the match, Harding took a commanding lead in the fourth set jumping out to a 14-8 lead and went on to win the set 25-18. The Lady Bisons had 12 kills and held Dallas Baptist to hitting .083 in the set.
FIFTH SET
Trailing 7-5 in the fifth set, Harding answered back with a 6-2 run on three kills to lead 11-9. Dallas Baptist battled back to tie the set at 11 before Harding won the next three points on two blocks to lead 14-11. A kill by Skyler McKinnon gave Harding the set 15-12.
STATS
Harding
- Harding had 62 kills and hit .249 in the match with four players in double-figure kills.
- Logan Smith led Harding with 14 kills. Kelli McKinnon and Skyler McKinnon each had 13 kills and Libby Hinton also had 12 kills.
- Sarah Morehead captured a double-double with 50 assists and 16 digs.
- Emma Winiger led the defense with 17 digs and Grecia Soriano had 13 digs.
- Harding had nine service aces with Libby Hinton leading the Lady Bisons with three.
Dallas Baptist
- Dallas Baptist had 63 kills in the match and hit .213.
- AJ Koele captured a double-double with 24 kills and 13 digs.
- Delaney Fuller led the defense with 17 digs.
UP NEXT
Harding will wrap up the invitational Saturday taking on Barry at 9 a.m., and host team St. Edward's at 2 p.m.
