SEARCY – In a thrilling five-set match, the Harding volleyball team emerged victorious against Southern Nazarene, maintaining their undefeated Great American Conference record. The final scores were 25-17, 20-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13 in favor of the home team.

It was the first five set match the Lady Bisons have played in this season.

Harding improves to 12-7 overall and 7-0 in GAC action. The Lady Bisons have won 28 straight GAC matches dating back to 2021. Harding went 16-0 last season.

Southern Nazarene falls to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in the GAC.

FIRST SET

Leading 4-3 in the first set, Harding went on a 7-1 run on three kills to lead 11-4. Up 23-17, the Lady Bisons had a kill and a block to win the set 25-17. Harding had 14 kills and forced Southern Nazarene to hit .026 in the set.

SECOND SET

Trailing 4-3 in the second set, Southern Nazarene went on an 8-1 run on six kills to lead 11-5. Leading 17-14, the Crimson Storm went on a 6-2 run to lead 23-16. Southern Nazarene went on to win the set 25-20. The Crimson Storm had 15 kills in the set with only two attack errors.

THIRD SET

Trailing 11-5 in the third set, Harding went on a 11-3 run on seven kills to lead 16-14. Southern Nazarene answered back with a 6-2 run on three kills to lead 20-18. Leading 22-20, the Crimson Storm had three-straight kills to win the set 25-20. Harding had 16 kills in the set and Southern Nazarene had 15.

FOURTH SET

Trailing 16-14 in the fourth set, Harding went on a 7-2 run on three kills to lead 21-18. Southern Nazarene answered back with a 6-2 run on three kills to lead 24-23. With set point, the Crimson Storm had a service error to keep the Lady Bisons alive. Harding capitalized on the opportunity with a kill and forced an attack error to win the set 26-24. Southern Nazarene had 15 kills in the set and Harding had 12.

FIFTH SET

Harding jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set before Southern Nazarene went on a 7-2 run on four kills to lead 8-6. With the set tied at 12, the Lady Bisons had back-to-back kills to lead 14-12. The Crimson Storm then had a kill to pull within one before Skyler McKinnon had a kill to win the set and match for Harding. Each team had six kills in the set. Southern Nazarene had five attack errors and the Lady Bisons had four.

STATS

Harding

-          Harding had 61 kills, 24 attack errors and hit .214 in the match. It was the second time this season the Lady Bisons have had over 60 kills in a match. Harding had 63 against Missouri-St. Louis earlier this season.

-          Harding had three players in double-figure kills in the match. Jacey Lambert and Skyler McKinnon each had 13 kills to lead the Lady Bisons.

-          Logan Smith-Morgan captured a double-double with 12 kills and tied a season-high with 21 digs.

-          Sarah Morehead also captured a double-double with 21 assists and 12 digs.

-          Harding had a season-high 100 digs in the match with four players in double-figures. Emma Winiger had a match-high 26 digs for lead the Lady Bisons. Cam Hinton also had 13 digs.

Southern Nazarene

-          Southern Nazarene had 60 kills, 26 attack errors and hit .176 in the match.

-          Rayanna Mauldin led the team with 17 kills, Sunny Batschelett and Tessa Henry each had 12 kills.

-          The Crimson Storm had 82 digs in the match with Madeline Lynch leading the team with 24.

UP NEXT

Harding will be back in action next weekend when it travels to Oklahoma. The Lady Bisons will face Northwestern Oklahoma Thursday at 6 p.m., in Alva and then take on Southwestern Oklahoma Friday at 4 p.m., in Weatherford.