ENID, Okla. — Harding swept Southwestern Oklahoma State 26-24, 25-18, 25-13 on Friday at the Stride Bank Center to capture its fourth Great American Conference Tournament Championship and secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
The victory adds to Harding's previous GAC Tournament titles in 2012, 2018 and 2022, and earns the Lady Bisons (26-4) their seventh all-time NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2022. Harding will learn where they are going and its first-round opponent during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 9 p.m. CT.
Harding's Melaina Haines, Mallory Weyand and Olivia Wiedower were named to the All-Tournament team and Wiedower was named tournament MVP.
After falling behind 18-11 in the opening frame, Harding rallied behind a late surge. Trailing 24-23, Addie Worley hammered a kill to tie the score before Fouche fired back-to-back service aces to steal the first set, 26-24.
Harding carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and hitting .357 as a team. With the score at 9-8, Lauren Demuth sparked a 5-0 run with three kills as the Lady Bisons pulled away for a 25-18 win. In the third set, Harding broke open a 6-5 battle with a 7-1 run before Fouche closed out the championship match with consecutive aces.
Freshman outside hitter Melaina Haines led a balanced Harding attack with 12 kills on .357 hitting, while senior Ella Drake added 11 kills on a .333 attack percentage and nine digs. Worley finished with nine kills and 12 digs, and Demuth chipped in seven kills and three blocks.
Senior setter Olivia Wiedower directed the offense with 24 assists, pushing her career total to 4,137 to solidify her hold on second place on Harding's all-time assists list behind Leah Tepe (6,157). Fouche added 15 assists and a match-high five service aces, while libero Mallory Weyand anchored the back row with 12 digs.
Southwestern Oklahoma State (20-11) was led by Morgan Ritchie and Katja Blanchat, who recorded seven kills each, while Jada Permenter tallied 12 digs. Harding outhit the Bulldogs .260 to .171 and held an 8-3 advantage in service aces.
With Friday's victory, head coach Meredith Fear improved to 15-9 all-time against Southwestern Oklahoma State and guided Harding to its 10th 25-win season in her 15 years at the helm.
Match Notes
- Series History: Harding improved to 19-9 all-time against Southwestern Oklahoma State and 6-1 against the Bulldogs in GAC Tournament play.
- NCAA Postseason: Harding will be making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2018 and 2022).
