JACKSON, Tenn. – The Harding volleyball team defeated Limestone 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-10, 26-24) before falling to Carson-Newman 3-2 (25-18, 13-25, 25-21, 12-25, 15-12) Friday to open the 2024 season at the Union Volleyball Classic.

Harding moves to 1-1 on the season.

Limestone falls to 0-1 and Carson-Newman improves to 1-1.

LIMESTONE MATCH

FIRST SET

Harding trailed 22-18 in the first set and battled back to pull within one 22-21 but Limestone took the next three points to win 25-21. Each team had 14 kills in the set.

SECOND SET

Tied at seven in the second set, Harding went on a 18-7 run to win the set 25-14. The Lady Bisons held Limestone to hitting .028 in the set.

THIRD SET

The third set was all Harding. The Lady Bisons jumped out to an 8-2 lead on four kills. Leading 18-10, Harding went on a 7-0 run on five kills to win the set 25-10. Harding hit .448 in the set with 15 kills.

FOURTH SET

Trailing 21-19, Limestone went on a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 lead. Harding battled back and won the next two points on back-to-back kill to tie the set at 23. After a Limestone point, Harding went on a 3-0 run to win 26-24. Limestone had 16 kills in the set and Harding had 15.

STATS

Harding

-          Harding had 56 kills, 15 attack errors and hit .287 in the match.

-          Skyler McKinnon led Harding with a double-double. She had 14 kills and 12 digs. Maegan Lacy had 12 kills in her Harding debut and Jacey Lambert had 10.

-          Tatum Fouche made her Harding debut with a team-high 21 digs.

-          Olivia Wiedower captured a double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs.

Limestone

-          Limestone had 42 kills, 24 attack errors and hit .129 in the match.

-          Emily Cole and Josie Curran each led the team with 10 kills.

-          Mia McMillen led the defense with 14 digs.

CARSON-NEWMAN MATCH

FIRST SET

Carson-Newman jumped out to 9-4 lead in the first set that Harding couldn't recover from as Eagles won the set 25-18. Carson-Newman had 14 kills in the set and hit .364.

SECOND SET

Harding rebounded and took a 13-6 lead to start the second set. The Lady Bisons went on to win the set 25-13. Harding had 15 kills and hit .414 in the set.

THIRD SET

Carson-Newman took a 9-2 lead in the third set before Harding tied the set at nine on a 7-0 run on three kills. The Eagles answered back with a 6-1 run to lead 15-10. The Lady Bisons got as close as two, 22-20 but Carson-Newman won three of the next four points to win the set 25-21.

FOURTH SET

The fourth set was all Harding as the Lady Bisons jumped out to a 9-0 run on four kills and two blocks. Leading 24-12, the Lady Bisons won the set on a kill by Maegan Lacy. Harding had 12 kills and held the Eagles to only seven kills.

FIFTH SET

Harding took a 7-3 lead in the fifth set before Carson-Newman battled back to tie the set at eight on a 5-1 run. Tied at 10, Harding had back-to-back kills to lead 12-10. The Eagles won the set and match scoring the next five points on three kills. Each team had eight kills in the set.

STATS

Harding

-          Harding had 60 kills, 21 attack errors and hit .248 in the match.

-          Harding had four players in double-figure kills in the match.

-          Maegan Lacy captured a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs to lead Harding.

-          Olivia Wiedower also captured a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs.

-          Tatum Fouche led the Harding defense with 27 digs.

Carson-Newman

-          Carson-Newman had 49 kills, 21 attack errors and hit .177 in the match.

-          Emerson Ahsmuhs and Annie Dziczkowski each had 12 kills to lead the Eagles.

-          Blair Cherry captured a double-double with 42 assists and 10 digs.

UP NEXT

Harding will be back in action Saturday when it takes on No. 6 Missouri-St. Louis at 10 a.m., and host team Union at 4 p.m.