Tweet #theGAC  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Henderson State defeated Oklahoma Baptist in three sets in Thursday’s opening quarterfinal contest of the 2018 Great American Conference’s Volleyball Championships from the Bank OZK Arena.
 
The win represented the first win at the GAC Championships for the Reddies (27-5) and their first conference tournament victory since 2007. Unanimous First-Team All-GAC outside hitter Courtney Bolf led the offense with 14 kills, two aces and 16.0 points. She added a match-high 20 digs. Zuzana Ondruskova also registered a double-double, 12 kills and 16 digs.
 
The Reddies closed out the opening set by a 25-19 margin as they won the six of the final seven points. They hit .432 and committed only two errors.
 
They seized control midway through the second set as an 8-2 spurt turned a 9-9 set into a 17-11 advantage. Oklahoma Baptist (16-17) never drew closer than four points the rest of the set and the Reddie scored a 25-18 set two win.
 
In the final set, the Reddies raced out to 13-7 lead only to see the Lady Bison draw even at 16-16.  Up 20-19, Henderson State scored five of the final six points to secure the match.
 
Malia Leatherland, a Second-Team All-GAC outside hitter paced the Lady Bison with 13 kills. She hit .294 for the match.
 
The Reddies will face the winner of Southwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene in Friday’s opening semifinal contest, set for a 3:30 p.m. start time. During the regular season, the Reddies dropped their lone match with the Bulldogs but swept their meeting with the Crimson Storm.