Written by Eli Dean // Photo provided by Jeff Montgomery

The Harding volleyball team is heading to the playoffs after an 18-10 regular season record.

The Lady Bisons shared the Great American Conference (GAC) regular-season title with Oklahoma Baptist University. This marked the first time since 2013 that Harding has won back-to-back regular season titles.

With seven graduating seniors on the team, the group has grown closer and stronger from years of playing together, said middle blocker and fifth-year Libby Hinton.

“The girls in my class are truly my best friends,” Hinton said. “We have had a unique experience by being able to take our [COVID-19] year of eligibility, which has been really fun to do together. It has been really cool to see how each of us has changed and learned over the past four-and-a-half years together.”

Hinton said she believes the team is ready to play at their best level of the season for the last few games in order to defend their GAC Championship title from last year.

“I am so proud of our team and how we have persevered,” Hinton said. “It’s always fun winning in the regular season, but we are ready to go make waves in GAC tournament play.”

Fifth-year outside hitter Chloe Ingersoll said the ups and downs of the season gave the team better preparation.

“This team has shown grit that we haven’t really had to show in the past,” Ingersoll said. “Last year, we mostly swept through teams and dominated our schedule, but this year we have been challenged more. There’s no game that we can slack off on like we could last year and that has really pushed us to have to show up ready to fight every game.”

The years on the team together have created a bond on and off the court, and Ingersoll said that she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“This is the longest I’ve gotten to play alongside a group of girls,” Ingersoll said. “I can trust them so freely on the court and enjoy even the hardest days of practice. Having gone through so much as a class, I truly can’t imagine finishing this sport off with any other crew.”

Junior middle blocker Delaney Garner said she will miss the seniors but is ready to take her leadership skills to the next level next season.

“The seniors this year have set a standard for Harding volleyball for years to come,” Garner said. “I can’t count how many times they have not only been there for me but everyone else on the team as well. We all love them so very much and don’t want to see them go, but know they are moving on to do great things.”