Tweet #theGAC  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – In Thursday evening’s Great American Conference Volleyball Championship quarterfinal matches from the Bank OZK Arena, top-seeded Oklahoma Baptist won its seventh-straight GAC Championship match while Harding outlasted East Central in five sets to advance to Friday’s semifinals.
 
The Bison (22-3) dispatched of rival Southern Nazarene (11-16), 25-18, 25-19 and 25-14. They hit .309 as a team, led by the performances of GAC Player of the Year Malia Leatherland and Taryn Weber. The tandem combined for 32 kills and produced a .443 attack percentage. Leatherland added 16 digs for her ninth double-double. She closed to within seven kills of breaking the conference’s all-time record, 1,662, held by Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Carly Zak.

Kaylee Buell amassed 37 digs and Diana Carranza added 17 digs for the two-time GAC champions. The Crimson Storm offense struggled as the match progressed. After hitting .186 in the opening set, their percentage dropped to .103 in the second set and -.059 in the third set. Grace Miracle recorded a team-leading nine kills. Madeline Lynch finished with 17 digs.
 
In the nightcap, Harding (17-8) and East Central (15-14) played only the 16^th five-set match in GAC Championship history. The Tigers won the opening set, 25-22, only to see Harding win sets two and three, 25-13 and 25-22. ECU staved off elimination with a 25-14 victory in set four. The fifth set featured five ties. ECU led 14-11 before Harding rattled off four straight points to claim its first lead of the set, 15-14. A kill by Libby Hinton clinched the Lady Bisons’ record ninth semifinal appearance.
 
Kelli McKinnon led the Lady Bisons offense with 19 kills and a match-high 24.0 points. She hit .485. Logan Smith added 16 kills and 17 digs. First-Team All-GAC setter Sarah Morehead totaled 47 assists and 16 digs. Emma Winiger notched 24 digs. Nyah Walker, 16 kills, and Emma Strickland, 15 kills, paced the Tiger attack. Strickland added 16 digs. Alejandra Delgado finished with a match high 36 digs.
 
The Bison and Lady Bisons will square off at 6 p.m. on Friday. The match streams on GACSportsNetwork.com. The two have met in three of the previous four GAC Championships, including the two most recent title matches, by won by Oklahoma Baptist. In the regular season, Oklahoma Baptist earned a hard-fought five-set win in Searcy.