SEARCY, Ark. — Harding third-year middle blocker Lauren Demuth has been named the Great American Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Demuth, a native of Mansfield, Texas, provided a dominant presence at the net to lead the Lady Bisons to a 2-0 road week with four-set victories over East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State. Demuth averaged a conference-best 2.00 blocks per set across eight sets of action.
In Harding's victory over East Central, Demuth recorded a season-high 12 blocks—the highest single-match total by any player in the GAC this season. The outing also made her the first player in the conference to record a kills-blocks double-double during the 2026 campaign.
Demuth is the fourth Lady Bison to earn a GAC weekly honor this fall. Defensive specialist Rauly Eason and setter Olivia Wiedower claimed defensive and setter honors, respectively, on Sept. 14, while freshman outside hitter Melaina Haines garnered offensive recognition on Sept. 21.
Harding enters the home stretch of the regular season with an 18-4 overall record and an 8-3 mark in conference play, sitting within three matches of league-leading No. 24 Oklahoma Baptist (19-4, 11-0 GAC).
