Written by Grant C Sloan
With one final kill by senior Manuela Nesheva the Lady Bisons volleyball team cemented their spot atop the Gulf South Conference last Tuesday night.
During a season normally dedicated to crushing hits, long passes and magnificent scrambles, theLady Bisonshave quietly become the top team at Harding University. Sporting a 26-5 record in season play and a 10-1 record in conference play, the Volleyball team has a winning percentage of .839. A figure even more impressive considering the Universities’ football team is now at .500 after their victory over Henderson State homecoming weekend.
Lead by seniorManuela Nesheva, who was picked Tuesday as Gulf South Conference player of the week for the tenth time in her Harding career, the Lady Bisons will now host the Western bracket of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Nesheva’s 4.31 kills per set ranks her second in the Gulf South Conference and fifth in all of NCAA Division II.
On a night dedicated to seniors, the Lady Bisons didn’t get deterred after dropping the second set to the team that handed them their only conference loss of the season. After going down 11-6 in the third set against the Lady Reddies, the Lady Bisons went on a 8-0 to take a 21-18 lead. The Lady Bisons then scored 4 straight points which was capped off by a kill from Senior Sarah Phipps.
“This team has really good chemistry, we play well together, and we don’t get down on ourselves when were behind,” said Senior Sarah Phipps, who totaled 12 kills against the Lady Reddies, second to fellow senior Manuela Nesheva.
Nesheva’s 28 kills was the 36thtime in her career that she hit the double figure mark in kills during a match.
“We’re not really a flashy team, we just go in there and try to get the job done,” said Phipps. The Bisons have done just that, winning seven of their last eight games, four of which have been in three straight sets.
The Lady Bisons will play their final Conference game against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia Thursday night, a team they swept 3-0 at home at the beginning of October.
