HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Harding earned its first trip to the semifinals of the Great American Conference Volleyball Championships by defeating Southwestern Oklahoma State in four sets on Thursday. Zoe Hardin paced the Lady Bisons with 12 kills and 10 blocks.
| GAC Volleyball Championships: Quarterfinal #2 |
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2 |
3 |
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| #7 Southwestern Oklahoma State (13-20) |
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17 |
25 |
13 |
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| #2 Harding (26-5) |
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23 |
25 |
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OFFENSIVE LEADERS:
SWOSU - Danusia Sipa Borgeau – 15 kills
Allie Hoang – 21 assists, three aces
DeLayni Fine – eight kills, 9.5 points
HU - Zoe Hardin – 12 kills, .333 attack percentage, 20.5 points
Taylor Mounts – 11 kills
Rachel Heussner – 48 assists
DEFENSIVE LEADERS:
SWOSU - Kaitlyn Dillon – 21 digs
Fine – three blocks
Hoang – 16 digs
HU - Hardin – 10 blocks
Taylor Lake – 22 digs
Heussner – 17 digs, two blocks
FIRST SET HIGHLIGHTS:
After falling behind 5-3 early, the Lady Bisons rattled off 17 of the next 21 points to seize control of the set. Four Lady Bisons registered multiple kills. Hardin totaled 5.5 points with a pair of kills, two aces and three block assists. Heussner assisted on all 11 Harding kills. Harding out hit SWOSU, .235 to -.062.
SECOND SET HIGHLIGHTS:
Harding took a two-set advantage as Hardin continued her excellent night. She registered four more kills, did not commit an error and added three solo blocks. Emily Smith and Emma Reeves added a combined five kills and that trio hit .471 without an error. The Lady Bisons added four more aces and never trailed in the set.
THIRD SET HIGHLIGHTS:
In a third set that featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes, the Bulldog staved off elimination with a 25-23 win in the third set. Down 20-19, they rattled off four straight points. Sipa Borgeaud delivered the final kill, her fifth of the set. Kodee Avery contributed three kills, eight assists, an ace and a block assist to fuel the comeback effort. Reeves continued her errorless night with three more kills.
FOURTH SET HIGHLIGHTS:
The Lady Bisons secured their berth in the semifinals with a 25-13 win in the fourth set. After hitting only .137 in the third set, they hit .256 and limited the Bulldogs to a .000 clip. Hardin reached double-double marks with three more kills and two block assists.
NOTABLE:
- Harding earned its first win at the GAC Championships since a quarterfinal win in 2014
- Harding improved to 3-0 against Southwestern Oklahoma State at the GAC Championships
- Hardin – tied the GAC Championship record for blocks in a match with 10
WHAT’S NEXT:
Harding will face Oklahoma Baptist at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.