SWOSU Volleyball will play in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons on Friday afternoon when they meet No. 3-seed Henderson State on Friday afternoon at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs. First serve is set for 3:30 pm in the first semifinal, with top-seed Harding to meet No. 4-seed Ouachita in the second semifinal at 6:00 pm.
 
SWOSU advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory over Southern Nazarene on Thursday in the quarterfinals, dropping the first set before winning the next three to advance in the tournament. Henderson State was very impressive in eliminating Oklahoma Baptist in straight sets to pick up their first postseason victory since the formation of the Great American Conference.
 
Four players recorded 10 or more kills for SWOSU in the opening round of the tournament, led by junior Jenny Tackett, who tied her career high with 15 kills and committed just one hitting error to finish with an impressive attack percentage of .609. Elizabeth McVicker and Emily Holm put away 12 kills apiece while Danusia Sipa Borgeaud (11 kills/12 digs) and Allie Hoang (52 assists/14 digs) both secured double-doubles. SWOSU also tied a GAC Tournament record with 11 service aces against SNU, getting a career-high five from Kodee Avery along with four from Klemson Lancaster
 
Henderson State was led by unanimous First Team All-Great American Conference selection Courtney Bolf on Thursday, getting a double-double of 14 kills and 20 digs from the junior outside hitter. Zuzana Ondruskova added 12 kills and 16 digs, helping the Reddies record 49 kills in the match while committing just nine hitting errors. The Reddies were also efficient at the net (five blocks) and strong at the service line (six aces) in the win.
 
Thursday's victories by SWOSU and Henderson State set up the first-ever postseason matchup between the two programs, making HSU the eighth different conference opponent the Bulldogs have faced in the GAC Tournament. It is also a matchup between the two teams who tied for second place in the GAC regular season standings at 13-3, with SWOSU gaining the No. 2 seed on the strength of a 3-0 victory on October 12 in Arkadelphia. In that match – like on Thursday against SNU – SWOSU had four different players with 10 or more kills, getting 11 apiece from Elizabeth McVicker and Emily Holm and 10 each from Danusia Sipa Borgeaud and Jenny Tackett.
 
SWOSU improved their all-time record at the GAC Tournament to 6-6 with a victory on Thursday and they now look to even their record in the semifinals, where they are 1-2 with a victory over Southern Nazarene in 2015 to their credit. The Bulldogs have twice been eliminated from the tournament in the second round, falling to Harding, 3-2, in 2012 and Southeastern, 3-1, in 2016.