SEARCY, Ark. — The Harding volleyball team overcame an early deficit to sweep East Central 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) Thursday night at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House in a Great American Conference action.

The win extends Harding's overall record to 17-4 and improves their GAC record to 8-2.

East Central falls to 7-16 overall and 5-5 in the GAC.

The Lady Bisons finished the match with a season-high .305 hitting percentage, holding the visiting Tigers to a .143 attack rate. Jacey Lambert led the attack with a match-high 13 kills on a .455 hitting percentage.

Harding's middle blockers proved nearly unstoppable, with Rauly Eason hitting .615 (9 kills) and Philomina Klotz hitting .636 (8 kills). Setter Olivia Wiedower piloted the offense with 34 assists and contributed 11 digs to record a double-double. Defensive specialist Carter Fouche provided a spark from the service line with five aces.

East Central was led by Jayla Buford who had six kills.

Set 1 (Harding 25, East Central 20): The Lady Bisons were forced to rally immediately. East Central jumped out to a 6-0 lead on the serve of Emily Pena, featuring two service aces and two kills from Jayla Buford. After a Harding timeout, the Lady Bisons clawed back, eventually tying the set at 10 on an ace by Maddie Burrough. Harding then used a 5-0 run to take its first lead at 15-11. Despite the Tigers cutting the lead to three points late, Harding had back-to-back kills to win the set 25-20.

Set 2 (Harding 25, East Central 19): Harding gained control in the second frame. After falling behind 10-9, The Lady Bisons went on a 10-3 run on six kills to lead 19-13. Up 21-19, Harding closed the set on a 4-0 run to win 25-19. The Lady Bisons had 16 kills in the set.

Set 3 (Harding 25, East Central 19): The Lady Bisons started strong with an early 6-1 lead. Up 13-7, Harding went on a 4-0 run on three kills to lead 17-7.  Though East Central battled to close the gap to three points late at 22-19, the Lady Bisons answered. After a Tiger service error, Harding got a block and a kill to win the set 25-19. The Lady Bisons had 13 kills and hit .348 in the set.

Defensively, Wiedower led the team with 11 digs, followed closely by Fouche with 9. Rauly Eason anchored the net defense, tallying three blocks.

Harding will return to the court Friday when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma at 4 p.m., at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.