18 Oct 2023 Lady Bisons prevail in five-set marathon in Alva

ALVA, Okla. – For the second-straight match, the Harding volleyball team defeated its opponent in five sets. The Lady Bisons beat Northwestern Oklahoma 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 15-10) in Great American Conference action Thursday.

Harding improved its record to 13-7 overall and maintained a perfect 8-0 record in the GAC. 

Northwestern Oklahoma falls to 7-12 overall and 3-5 in the GAC.

FIRST SET

Tied 4-4 in the first set, Harding went on an 8-1 run to lead 12-5. Leading 22-16, the Lady Bisons won the next three points to win the set 25-16. Harding hit .091 in the set but forced 12 Northwestern Oklahoma attack errors.

SECOND SET

Trailing 12-9 in the second set, Northwestern Oklahoma went on a 6-0 run on four kills by Macy Shreffler to lead 15-12. Harding pulled within two, 21-19 but the Rangers won four of the next five points to win the set 25-20. Northwestern Oklahoma had 15 kills in the set.

THIRD SET

Trailing 3-2 in the third set, Harding went on a 7-2 run on five kills to lead 9-5. The Lady Bisons went on to win the set 25-16. Harding hit .400 with 15 kills in the set.

FOURTH SET

Down 7-1 in the fourth set, Harding went on an 8-1 run to lead 9-8. Northwestern Oklahoma answered back with a 10-2 run to lead 18-11. The Lady Bisons battled back to cut the lead to three 24-21 but a Harding attack error gave the Rangers the set 25-21. Northwestern Oklahoma had 15 kills and hit .256 in the set.

FIFTH SET

Trailing 7-6 in the fifth set, Northwestern Oklahoma won the next three points to lead 9-7. Harding only allowed the Rangers to score one more point in the set as the Lady Bisons went on an 8-1 run on five kills to win the set 15-10. Northwestern Oklahoma hit -.100 in the set and had six attack errors.

STATS

Harding

– Harding had 53 kills, 28 attack errors and hit .148 in the match.

– Skyler McKinnon led Harding with 19 kills and she also hit .302.

– Harding had 72 digs in the match with Emma Winiger leading the team with 22. Logan Smith-Morgan also had 14 digs.

– Avery Hall had three of Harding’s seven aces.

– Harding had a season-high 14 blocks. Ashley Lamkin led the Lady Bisons with a career-high seven blocks. She also had a career-high three solo blocks. Libby Hinton also had six blocks.

Northwestern Okla.

– Northwestern Oklahoma had 51 kills, 36 attack errors and hit .088 in the match.

– Macy Shreffler and Erika Asencio Soriano each had 19 kills.

– The Rangers had 72 digs in the match with Brianda Diaz leading the team with 25.

UP NEXT

Harding will continue its Oklahoma trip Friday, traveling to Weatherford, Oklahoma to take on Southwestern Oklahoma. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.