SEARCY, Ark. — Melaina Haines recorded a match-high 11 kills and served four aces as the Harding volleyball team swept Henderson State 25-16, 25-11, 25-13 on Tuesday night at Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
With the victory, Harding (20-4, 10-3 Great American Conference) reached the 20-win plateau for the season, while Henderson State fell to 12-14 overall and 5-8 in league play. The Lady Bisons needed just 63 minutes to close out the match, never trailing on the night.
Harding hit .228 as a team and delivered a season-high 12 service aces while limiting the Reddies to a -.022 hitting percentage.
Philomina Klotz added nine kills while hitting .364, Ella Drake contributed eight kills, and Lauren Demuth totaled seven kills on a .357 clip. Olivia Wiedower orchestrated the offense with 36 assists, three aces, and six digs. Defensively, libero Mallory Weyand anchored the back row with 15 digs, and Haines finished with a double-double by tallying 10 digs.
Cassidi Campbell led Henderson State with four kills on eight swings (.375) and three blocks. Kaylon Partain collected a match-high 17 digs for the Reddies.
The Lady Bisons set the tone in the opening frame, using an 11-1 scoring burst behind the serve of Addie Worley to open up a commanding 16-3 lead. Henderson State rallied within five at 21-16 following a 4-0 run, but Haines shut the door by hammering a kill and serving an ace to close out a 25-16 win.
Harding carried the momentum straight into the second set, racing out to an 8-1 advantage. Demuth connected on four kills during the frame, and back-to-back aces from Drake extended the margin to 22-8 before the Lady Bisons secured the set 25-11.
The third set followed a similar script. Tied 1-1, Harding reeled off four straight points to grab early control. Later leading 10-6, the Lady Bisons capitalized on four consecutive kills by Haines, Demuth, Worley, and Drake to break the frame open. Worley capped the sweep at 25-13 with an ace followed by a block from Klotz on match point.
The Lady Bisons will be back in action Thursday when it travels to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to take on Ouachita Baptist at 6 p.m.
