RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the league’s Volleyball Players of the Week for the third week of the 2021 spring season. Arkansas-Monticello’s Katelyn Richbourg and Katie Pearson garnered the Defensive Player and Setter awards while Harding’s Libby Hinton earned the Offensive honor.

GAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Libby Hinton, Harding, MB, So., Glen Rose, Texas

Hinton led the Lady Bisons in a three-set victory against Southern Nazarene. She registered a season-high 11 kills with a season-high .529 attack percentage. She averaged 4.00 points per set. Harding improved to 3-0 and extended its win streak against Southern Arkansas to nine

GAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katelyn Richbourg, Arkansas-Monticello, DS, Jr., Magnolia, Arkansas

Richbourg spearheaded a stout defensive effort for the Blossoms in their four-set win against Ouachita on Tuesday. She recorded 41 digs as the Tigers produced just a .085 attack percentage. She became the second player in GAC history to tally at least 40 digs in a four-set contest.

GAC SETTER OF THE WEEK – Katie Pearson, Arkansas-Monticello, Sr., Kansas City, Missouri

Pearson helped the Blossoms end an 11-match losing streak to Ouachita as she recorded 48 assists in the four-set win on Tuesday. The 48 assists represented her career high for a three- or four-set match. After hitting a combined .065 in its first two matches, Arkansas-Monticello hit .257 against Ouachita.

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MAGNOLIA – The Harding volleyball team had four players in double-figure kills as the Lady Bisons defeated Southern Arkansas 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 25-11) Thursday in Great American Conference action.

Harding improves to 16-9 overall and 7-5 in the GAC.

Southern Arkansas falls to 3-20 overall and 1-11 in the GAC.

FIRST SET

Trailing 8-7 in the first set, Harding went on a 5-1 run on three kills to lead 12-9. Leading 17-16, the Lady Bisons scored eight of the next 10 points to win the set 25-18. Harding hit .345 in the set with Ally Stoner having four kills.

SECOND SET

Trailing 9-8 in the second set, Southern Arkansas went on a 7-0 run to lead 15-9. Harding answered back with a 7-3 run to pull within two, 18-16. The Muleriders won the next three points and then went on to win the set 25-20. Southern Arkansas held Harding to hitting .105 in the set.

THIRD SET

Tied at 13 in the third set, Southern Arkansas took a 19-15 lead on a 6-2 run. Trailing 23-18, Harding went on a 7-0 run on four kills and three service aces by Emma Winiger to win the set 25-23. The Lady Bisons had 15 kills in the set led by Logan Smith who had six.

FOURTH SET

Leading 8-5 in the fourth set, Harding went on an 8-2 run on five kills to lead 16-7. The Lady Bisons won nine of the next 13 points all on kills to win the set 25-11. Harding had 20 kills in the set and hit .528 with only one attack error. Ally Stoner had seven kills in the set and Libby Hinton had six.

STATS

Harding
–          Harding had 58 kills and hit .331 in the match.
–          The Lady Bisons were led by Ally Stoner who had a season-high 14 kills and hit .407.
–          Libby Hinton had 13 kills and hit .571 for Harding. She also had four blocks.
–          Logan Smith captured a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs.
–          Kelli McKinnon had 10 kills, hit .467 and had four blocks in the match.
–          Katherine Cowart led the defense with 16 digs. Kinley Schnell also had 11 digs.

Southern Arkansas
–          Seven Powers led Southern Arkansas with 11 kills.
–          Abby Bermudez had 10 kills for the Muleriders.
–          Southern Arkansas had 52 kills and hit .205 in the match.

UP NEXT
Harding will be back in action at home Tuesday when it hosts Ouachita Baptist at 6 p.m., at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

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