ADA, Okla. – Kelli McKinnon had 17 kills to lead the Harding volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 28-26) Great American Conference Victory Thursday over East Central.
Harding improves to 17-1 on the season and keeps its winning streak alive at 15 matches. The Lady Bisons improve to 6-0 in the GAC.
East Central falls to 7-12 overall and 3-3 in the GAC.
FIRST SET
Tied at 14 in the first set, East Central went on a 5-0 run on three kills to lead 19-14. Harding answered back with a 9-1 run on five kills to lead 23-20. East Central scored the next two points to pull within one 23-22 but two kills by Kelli McKinnon gave the Lady Bisons the set 25-23. Harding had 12 kills in the set.
SECOND SET
East Central jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set until Harding fought back to take a 10-9 lead. Leading 19-17, the Lady Bisons went on a 6-1 run on four kills to win the set 25-18. Harding again had 12 kills in the set and forced 10 East Central attack errors.
THIRD SET
With the third set tied at 23, East Central had a kill to give them set point. Harding answered back with a kill by Kelli McKinnon to tie the set at 24. The Tigers scored the next two points to win the set 26-24. East Central had 18 kills in the set.
FOURTH SET
Harding jumped out to a 15-9 lead in the fourth set before East Central came charging back to take a 20-18 lead. The Tigers fought off Harding who had two match points to take a 26-25 lead. The Lady Bisons won the set with three straight points, a kill by Kelli McKinnon, a block by Skyler McKinnon and Libby Hinton and a service ace by Emma Winiger. Harding had 18 kill in the set.
STATS
Harding
- Harding had 56 kills, 25 attack errors and hit .177 in the match. It was the sixth time the Lady Bisons have had over 50 kills in a match this season.
- Kelli McKinnon tied a season-high with 17 kills. She also had seven blocks, three being solo.
- Libby Hinton had 11 kills and hit .348 in the match.
- Logan Smith captured a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs for Harding.
- Sarah Morehead also captured a double-double with 49 assists and a season-high 17 digs. She also had four blocks.
- Emma Winiger led the defense with 18 digs.
- Harding tied a season-high with 11 team blocks in the match. It was the second straight match and the third time this season the Lady Bisons have had 11 blocks.
East Central
- East Central had 56 kills, 31 attack errors and hit .132 in the match.
- The Tigers had four players in double-figure kills. Ashleigh Miller led the team with 15 kills.
- Alejandra Delgado led the defense with a match-high 36 digs.
UP NEXT
Harding continues its Oklahoma road trip Friday when it travels to Durant, Oklahoma to take on Southeastern Oklahoma at 4 p.m.
