SHAWNEE, Okla. – Great American Conference Player of the Year Kelli McKinnon and Logan Smith combined for 27 kills to lead No. 24 Harding to a 3-1 (17-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-20) victory against Arkansas Tech in the first round of the GAC Volleyball Championships.

Smith had 12 kills in the match to propel her over 1,000 career kills. She became the 14th Lady Bison to reach the milestone and the seventh player in Harding history to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Harding improves to 28-1 on the season and Arkansas Tech falls to 8-22. With the win, Harding extended Division II's longest active win streak to 26. The streak dates back to August 27th. Harding reached the semifinals for the 10th time in 12 seasons and improved to 10-2 in quarterfinal games.

Harding trailed 5-1 in the first set before battling back to tie the set at six after going on a 5-1 run. Arkansas Tech took a 17-11 lead midway through the set that Harding couldn't overcome as the Golden Suns won the set, 25-17, the first set dropped by the Lady Bisons since October 14. Arkansas Tech had 13 kills in the set and held the Lady Bisons to only six.

After going down 2-0 in the second set, Harding went on a 11-3 run on five kills to lead 11-5. Arkansas Tech battled back and cut the lead to one two times but the Lady Bisons went on to win the set 25-17. Harding had 12 kills in the set and forced seven Arkansas Tech attack errors.

Harding carried its momentum into the third set jumping out to 9-5 lead. Arkansas Tech quickly rebounded with a 3-0 run to trail 9-8. The Lady Bisons got a kill from Kelli McKinnon which started the run to take the set 25-15. Harding had 14 kills and hit .306 in the set.

Trailing 10-8 in the fourth set, Harding went on a 6-1 run on two kills and two aces to lead 14-11. Leading 22-20, Harding had two kills and an ace to win the match 25-20. The Lady Bisons had 13 kills and forced eight Arkansas Tech attack errors.

For the second straight match, Libby Hinton has had five aces which ties her career high. As a team, Harding tied a GAC Championship record with 11 aces - the ninth time this season the Lady Bisons have had more than 10 aces.

The Lady Bisons advance to the semifinals and will face No. 4 seed Ouachita Baptist at 5 p.m., Friday.