SEARCY, Ark. — The Harding Lady Bisons volleyball team delivered a dominant performance at home Saturday afternoon, sweeping Southern Nazarene 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-15) in a Great American Conference match at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
The straight-sets victory boosted Harding's record to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in GAC play. The Lady Bisons' offense finished with a .303 team hitting percentage, while their defense held the Crimson Storm to just a .115 mark.
Southern Nazarene falls to 5-13 overall and 1-6 in the GAC.
Harding had three players in double-digit kills. Rauly Eason had a match-high 11 kills, hitting .450 and adding four blocks. Philomina Klotz was nearly flawless, recording 10 kills on 19 attempts without an error for a match-best .526 hitting percentage. Jacey Lambert also tallied 10 kills, hitting .471. Setter Olivia Wiedower orchestrated the attack with 38 assists while contributing 14 digs.
Set 1 (Harding 25, Southern Nazarene 17): Harding took control with a powerful mid-set surge. Up 11-9, Harding had seven straight kills to take a 18-9 lead. A solo block by Philomina Klotz gave Harding the set one victory. The Lady Bisons had 17 kills in the set.
Set 2 (Harding 25, Southern Nazarene 16): The Lady Bisons maintained their momentum into the second set. Harding jumped out to a 9-5 lead and didn't look back. Up 21-16, the Lady Bisons went on a 4-0 run on two kills to win 25-16. Harding had 13 kills and hit .323 in the set.
Set 3 (25-15, HU): Harding's offense was at its peak in the final frame, hitting .472. Up 5-3, Harding went on an 8-2 run on six kills to lead 13-5 and didn't look back. The Lady Bisons had 19 kills with only two attack errors in the set.
Carter Fouche had two of the team's five service aces, and the Lady Bisons out-blocked Southern Nazarene 7.0 to 5.0. Fouche contributed 13 digs, and Maddie Burrough added 12, Josie Bishop had 11, joining Wiedower (14) in double figures.
Harding will head to the state of Oklahoma next week. The Lady Bisons will take on Northwestern Oklahoma in Alva Thursday at 6 p.m., and Southwestern Oklahoma in Weatherford, Friday at 4 p.m.
