HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Tied 1-1 in sets, SWOSU Volleyball erased an 18-9 third set deficit in an eventual 3-1 match victory over 8-seeded Henderson State on Thursday in the opening round of the GAC Tournament.

The win pushes SWOSU to 9-5 all-time in GAC quarterfinal matches. The Bulldogs will await to see who they face in Friday's 5:00 pm semifinal, with the winner of tonight's (4) Oklahoma Baptist vs (5) Ouachita Baptist matchup as the opponent.

SWOSU had things clicking early after jumping out to an early 1-0 lead over the Reddies. They hit a game high .351 in the first set, with 16 kills and just three errors – their fewest in any frame. Six of Paris Patterson's 11 kills came in the first set.

After SWOSU's strong start, Henderson State leveled the match with a second set they controlled from the jump. The Reddies posted a match high hitting mark (.222) and forced SWOSU into six errors en route to a 25-19 win.

The Reddie momentum carried into the third set where things looked grim for SWOSU for much of the set. Trailing 19-8, a Bulldog comeback completely shifted momentum. A seven-point spurt gave the Dawgs life, and they eventually rattled off four points in a row to snatch the set away from HSU. The four-point run came on the heels of a Reddie set point, trailing 24-22.

Now leading 2-1, SWOSU settled in and delivered the final blow in the fourth set. They did not endure a lead change, only had one tie in the frame, and produced 19 kills to shake free of the Reddies.

Between the third and fourth sets, Hailey Smith and Lacy Mott combined for 19 kills. Mott, who only had two in the first set, closed the match with 14 in sets two through four.

SWOSU hit .221 on the day, compared to .147 from Henderson State. Mott's 16 kills and 24 digs both led the team. The defense got three 20-plus dig efforts in total, courtesy of Terez Chavez's 22 and Jada Permenter's 21.

Zoey Sparks finished with eight kills and a team high five blocks.