Volleyball Grabs a Win Saturday

AUSTIN, Texas – The Harding volleyball team split two matches Saturday on the final day of the Hilltopper Classic. The Lady Bisons lost to Barry in the first match 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-16) but rebounded to defeat the host team St. Edward's 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-17) in the second game.

Harding moves to 3-1 on the season.

Barry improved to 3-0 and St. Edward's fell to 0-3 on the season.

BARRY MATCH

FIRST SET

Trailing 17-13 in the first set, Harding went on a 7-2 run on four kills and two service aces to lead 20-19. Barry got the next five points to lead 24-20. Harding battled back scoring the next three points before Barry had a kill to win 25-23. Barry had 18 kills in the set.

SECOND SET

The second set stayed close until the end. Tied at 19, Barry went on a 3-0 run on three kills to lead 22-19. Harding battled back to pull within two, 23-21 but Barry had back-to-back kills to win the set 25-21. Barry had 17 kills in the set.

THIRD SET

Harding jumped out to a 10-7 lead before Barry went on a 6-0 run on three blocks to lead 13-10. Barry went on to win the set 25-16. Barry had 13 kills and no attack errors in the set.

STATS

Harding

-          Harding had 37 kills and hit .139 in the match.

-          Kelli McKinnon led Harding with nine kills.

-          Kinley Schnell led the defense with 13 digs.

Barry

-          Barry had 48 kills and hit .322 in the match.

-          Diana Akopova led the team with 19 kills and hit .359. She also had 14 digs.

-          Luana Bulara led the defense with 27 digs.

ST. EDWARD'S MATCH

FIRST SET

Trailing 13-11 in the first set, Harding went on a 9-0 run on two kills and three aces to lead 20-13. St. Edward's battled back to pull within one 24-23 but a kill by Jacey Lambert gave Harding the set. St. Edward's had 16 kills in the set to Harding's 11.

SECOND SET

Harding trailed again in the second set 13-7 before going on an 8-1 run on three kills and two aces to lead 17-16. Trailing again 18-17, the Lady Bisons went on a 5-0 run on three kills to lead 22-18. St. Edward's again came back and pulled within one 24-23 but a kill by Sarah Morehead gave Harding the set 25-23. Harding had 13 kills and forced seven St. Edward's attack errors in the set.

THIRD SET

Tied at 13 in the third set, Harding went on a 11-2 run to lead 24-15. Another kill by Jacey Lambert gave the Lady Bisons the set 25-17. Harding had 14 kills in the set and held St. Edward's to nine kills.

STATS

Harding

-          Harding had 38 kills and hit .219 in the match.

-          Kelli McKinnon led Harding with 10 kills.

-          Logan Smith led the defense with 10 digs.

-          Emma Winiger had a career-high five services aces in the match.

-          Harding had 10 service aces.

St. Edward's

-          St. Edward's had 42 kills and hit .216 in the match.

-          Kylie Loquercio led the offense with 12 kills.

-          Sarah Konovodoff led the defense with 12 digs.

UP NEXT

Harding will be back in action next weekend when it travels to Owensboro, Kentucky to take part in the Kentucky Wesleyan Classic. First serve against Lincoln Memorial is set for Friday at 11 a.m. Coverage links can be found on HardingSports.com