Box Score (html)
SEARCY, Ark. – The Bulldogs took the last three sets of the match to down Harding 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-21) for the first time in program history on Saturday afternoon in a Great American Conference match.
SWOSU continued to do damage with their serve, with 18 of their points coming on the serve. The 18 service aces sets a new record for aces in a four-set match, besting the previous total set of 12 on October 25, 2011 against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Carly Zak tied the individual mark with six kills, and
Addie Aman tied for third on the leaderboard with five.
Harding created separation after the Bulldogs pulled within 14-12 in the first set, ripping off five of the next seven points. The Lady Bisons would claim the set with a score of 25-19.
A fast start out of the gates in the second set saw SWOSU go up 1-6 as Zak recorded a kill and an ace,
Kelsi Schmidtberger got a kill and Harding took three attack errors, including a block by Schmidtberger and Aman. Midway through the set with the Dawgs up 17-14, Zak laid down another two aces, but Harding would pull it back to 22-22. Schmidtberger continued her dominant second set with back-to-back kills before an ace by
Kayla Hebert gave SWOSU the 25-22 victory to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set featured eight ties, but Harding continually managed to hold the Bulldogs at bay. However, at 16-16, SWOSU took the lead on a block assist by
Paige Holt and Zak before the pair each recorded a kill to push the lead to 19-16. A blocking error on a Schmidtberger attack gave the Bulldogs the set 25-19 for a 2-1 lead.
SWOSU built a 6-2 hole that they'd need to rally from to overcome the Lady Bisons in the decisive fourth set. An attack error while Aman held serve allowed the Bulldogs to do just that. Taking seven straight points, including four of Aman's five aces, to claim a 13-8 lead. Despite surrendering the lead, Harding refused to go quietly, and not only regained the lead, but pushed it to 18-14.
Jill Green put the Dawgs up for good at 22-21, and
DeLayni Fine scored two aces in her final three serves, including an ace on match point, to give SWOSU a 25-21 set victory. The loss was Harding's first of the season at home.
Zak and Hebert finished with double-doubles. Zak had a match-high 17 kills on 45 attempts to go along with 11 digs, while Hebert recorded 40 assists and 12 digs. Schmidtberger and Green also finished in double figures for kills with 12 and 10 respectively.
Kaila Lancaster led all SWOSU players with 14 digs.
The Bulldogs (12-8, 6-3 GAC) face a busy week next week with four home matches. SWOSU kicks off the week with a match against Langston on Tuesday, October 20. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
