SEARCY, Ark. – Following a straight-set victory over Northwestern on Thursday night, the SWOSU Volleyball team is headed for the Semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament, where they will face Harding, the No. 6-ranked team in NCAA Division II on Saturday afternoon at Rhodes-Reaves Field House in Searcy.
 
SWOSU has now won three matches following their sweep of Northwestern on Thursday, which was their second consecutive win over Northwestern after previously needing five sets to defeat the Rangers on Senior Night. The Bulldogs got 11 kills from Emma Cohalla and 10 apiece from Lacy Mott and Taryn Galt as they hit .259 with 43 kills for the match. SWOSU also held Northwestern to an attack percentage of .047 with 26 kills and 21 hitting errors and won the match by set scores of 25-10, 25-17, 25-19.
 
With the win, the Bulldogs are moving on to the semifinals for the fifth time in 10 appearances at the GAC Tournament, but they will not be matched up with their biggest nemesis in the event. SWOSU is 4-12 all-time against Harding, but 0-4 against the Lady Bisons in the postseason, including three quarterfinal losses and a five-set defeat in the 2012 semifinals in a match also played on Harding's campus.
 
This year, Harding is unblemished and now 11-0 following a three-set victory over Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday night in the quarterfinals. They lead the conference in kills, while ranking second in hitting percentage and assists and they are holding opponents to the lowest hitting percentage of any team in the conference. The Lady Bisons are led by GAC Player of the Year Logan Smith, one of four players to earn all-conference recognition along with Libby Hinton (First Team), Sarah Morehead (Second Team) and Ally Stoner (Second Team).
 
SWOSU counters with the third-best offense in the conference, averaging 13.23 kills per set while hitting .184 as a team this season. The Bulldogs are led by senior setter Allie Hoang, a First Team All-GAC selection, while both of her starting outside hitters – Lacy Mott and Chezney Nielsen – earned honorable mention all-conference. SWOSU has a balanced offensive attack with five players who have recorded more than 100 kills this season in Mott (135), Nielsen (129), Taryn Galt (116), Emma Cohalla (103) and Samantha Kuzma (102).
 
SWOSU Volleyball is 1-3 all-time in the semifinal round of the GAC Tournament and they're searching for their first GAC Championship appearance since 2015, when they went on to win the program's first conference championship.
 
First serve of the semifinal match is set for 2:00 pm on Saturday and it will be streamed by the GAC Sports Network. Live stats will also be available and all coverage links are available at SWOSUAthletics.com.