MONTICELLO, Ark. — The Harding volleyball team secured a dominant straight-sets sweep over Arkansas-Monticello 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-14) Thursday night, maintaining their position near the top of the Great American Conference standings at Steelman Fieldhouse.

The Lady Bisons' offensive power was on full display, as they finished with a .306 team hitting percentage while stifling the Blossoms' attack rate to just .091. The victory improves Harding's overall record to 19-4 and their GAC mark to 10-2.

Middle blocker Philomina Klotz led a balanced attack, recording a .588 hitting percentage with 11 kills. She also had four blocks, two of them being solo.

Olivia Wiedower expertly piloted the offense, dishing out a match-high 37 assists.

Defensively, libero Maddie Burrough anchored the back row with a match-high 19 digs.

Arkansas-Monticello (3-20, 0-12 GAC) was led by Brianna Converse who had seven kills.

SET HIGHLIGHTS

Set 1 (Harding 25, Ark.-Monticello 16): Harding used a mix of aggressive serving and net play to establish a rhythm. After an early 4-4 tie, a kill from Jacey Lambert put the Lady Bisons ahead for good. The Blossoms' offense was stymied late in the frame, when the Lady Bisons tallied a late block by Lambert and Klotz, before a Maegan Jones kill secured the 25-16 win.

Set 2 (Harding 25, Ark.-Monticello 11): The Lady Bisons turned up the heat, hitting .378 for their most dominant set of the night. Kills from Maegan Jones helped open up an early 8-4 advantage. Harding's serving proved challenging for UAM, and an extensive 8-0 run mid-set ballooned the lead to 22-9. Key kills from Klotz and Lambert during the run sealed the fate of the set, which ended on a Rauly Eason kill for the 25-11 victory.

Set 3 (Harding 25, Ark.-Monticello 14): Harding ensured there would be no let-up, jumping to a 3-0 lead with a Klotz and Lambert kill and a UAM attack error. While UAM briefly took a 7-6 lead before a dominant eight-point run with Josie Bishop at the service line broke the set open. The run included four kills and two UAM attack errors, highlighted by a Bishop service ace and a Klotz block solo. Harding never looked back, closing the match 25-14 on a final service ace from Carter Fouche.

Harding's overall defense was sharp, finishing with 64 total digs. Maddie Burrough led the team with 19, followed by Avery Stanfill (10) and Maegan Jones (10). At the net, Harding recorded nine blocks, with Klotz and Lambert leading the effort with two block solos a piece.

Harding will be back in action Tuesday when it hosts Ouachita Baptist at 6 p.m., at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.