Tweet #theGAC  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Henderson State rolled past Southern Arkansas in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the GAC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals for just the second time in the GAC era. The Reddies (20-10, 10-6) will face No. 1 seed Harding in the second round at 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the Bank OZK Arena.

Violeta Mendoza Quintana paced an HSU attack that hit .246 as a team with 15 kills on a .520 attack while adding ten digs and two blocks to her totals. Christiane Uzoh and Jagoda Szybinska combined for 17 kills, while Madison Hatt pulled the strings for the offense with 21 assists. Nathalie Van saw a double-double with her offensive efforts, recording 15 assists and 10 digs.

At the net, Larkin Luke put up five blocks and added four kills to her totals for 8.0 points, while Uzoh and Brae Denton combined for seven blocks. Henderson State compiled 59 digs over the three sets, led by Trinity Sharp, who saw a team-high 11. The Reddies' defense limited the SAU attack to 38 kills on a .163 attack average and forced 17 attack errors.

The contest started with the Muleriders taking a 5-2 lead, but HSU responded quickly on a 3-0 run to tie the frame at 5-5 and then 6-6. Southern Arkansas jumped on top, 10-7, before two service aces from Hatt led to a 6-0 run to put the Reddies ahead by three. After grabbing the lead, HSU did not let go, extending its edge to 19-12 on a 5-0 run with two blocks and a kill by Uzoh.

SAU weathered the flurry of attacks and answered with a 7-2 stretch to cut Henderson State's lead down to two, 21-19. HSU's Szybinska replied by slamming home two kills to finish off a 4-0 run and win the opening frame 25-19.

Like the first set, Henderson trailed Southern Arkansas 5-2 before drawing twice twice - 5-5 and 9-9. The Reddies opened up a 15-11 lead on a 6-1 run after back-to-back kills and a block by Denton. HSU kept a three to four-point edge over SAU through the middle rallies of the set, but another late run by Muleriders saw them close the gap to 21-19. The Reddies used a timeout to regroup and did just that, scoring four straight points to claim a 25-19 set win.

A back-and-forth start to the third stanza saw 11 ties and five different lead changes, with the score locked at 15-15. The Reddies found separation through a pair of kills by Szybinska and Mendoza Quintana and a service ace from Kaylon Partain to take a 19-16 lead. The Muleriders fought back, tying the set 20-20, but the hot hand of Uzoh proved too much, as the outside hitter recorded five of the team's final six points to take the last frame, 25-21.