The Lady Bisons remain undefeated in conference play after defeating Southern Arkansas University 3-0 on Oct. 23.
They are currently 21-6 overall and 10-0 in conference play.
Harding is in sole possession of first place in the GAC standings.
Going into the game, Harding and SAU were ranked one and two in the GAC. Because of this, there was a lot of hype surrounding this match, senior Bailee Graham said.
They took the first two sets 25-18 and 25-19. SAU took a 22-19 lead in the third set, but then the Lady Bisons went on a 4-0 run on three kills by junior outside hitter Mollie Arnold to take the set 25-23.
“The highlight of the game was definitely tying it up at the end of game three right when the thought they would be able to win it,” said freshman outside hitter Shelby Daniel.
The Lady Bisons are 8-0 at home this season.
“The game went great,” said sophomore setter Taryn Eubank. “We played well and worked together to pull out another conference win to remain undefeated.”
Harding is led by Arnold, who ranks first in the GAC kills per set with a 3.98 average. Senior setter Amber Schinzing also ranks first in the GAC in assists per set with a 11.01 average.
At the Washburn Classic on Oct. 5-6, the Lady Bisons lost to nationally-ranked Washburn University and Truman State, ranked number three and 20 respectively.
“They were really great competition that we just hadn’t seen yet,” Fear said. “It really took our game to a whole new level. Since then I’ve been told that my expectations for the team have taken a step up. That, no matter who the opponent is on the other side of the net is, if we play like we did against Washburn then we should continue to be undefeated for the rest of the season.”
Since that tournament, the Lady Bisons have been on a seven-game winning streak. Fear said they would like to keep the momentum going and stay undefeated in the conference.
“We just really want to make sure we don’t start coasting,” Graham said. “Every game we want to make sure that we come out and play hard. We want to treat every game like it’s a big game because any team can come and sneak up on us in conference.”
The Lady Bisons’ next game will be against third-ranked Arkansas Tech University in Russellville on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
