RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Over a 16-day period, the Great American Conference will reveal the All-Decade teams for the 13 sports – football, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross-country, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, softball, baseball and men’s and women’s golf.

Tuesday the conference announced its volleyball All-Decade Team with two Harding players included on the 13-player team. Harding’s honorees were Mollie Arnold and Zoe Hardin.

• Arnold played at Harding from 2010-13. She earned three First Team All-GAC honors and was the GAC Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Arnold ranks second at Harding in career kills (1,884), fourth in service aces (149) and seventh in digs (1,487).
• Hardin played from 2015-18 and received First Team All-GAC honors all four seasons. She was the GAC Player of the Year in 2016 and 2018 and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. Hardin ranks eighth at Harding in career kills (1,356) and second in blocks (650).

The league will also announce a “Program of the Decade” for the 13 sports. This award goes to the team that earned the most points and the highest percentage of points based on the league’s two All-Sports trophies. With its four regular season GAC Championships and two GAC Tournament titles, Harding was the GAC’s Team of the Decade for volleyball.

The original list of nominees consisted of players that met at least one of the following three criteria: earned an “Of the Year” award, named to at least two All-GAC First Teams or at least three All-GAC teams.

The voting electorate consisted of GAC coaches, sports information directors, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and media members.

The All-Decade teams consisted of all nominees named on at least 50 percent of returned ballots.

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KEARNEY, Neb. – The No. 8 seed Harding volleyball team fell to the ninth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul, the No. 4 seed, Friday 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-13) in the semifinals of the NCAA Central Region Tournament hosted by Nebraska-Kearney.

Harding defeated the host team and the third-ranked team Nebraska-Kearney Thursday to advance to the semifinals. It was Harding’s and the Great American Conference first ever win in the NCAA Tournament.

Harding ends its season with a 28-6 record and the loss snapped a 14 match winning streak.

Concordia-St. Paul improves to 24-8 overall and will play Washburn Saturday for the central region championship.

FIRST SET

Trailing 5-4 in the first set, Harding went on a 9-1 run to lead 13-6. Concordia-St. Paul pulled within two, 18-16, but the Lady Bisons went on a 7-3 run to win the set 25-19. Harding had 11 kills in the set and held the Golden Bears to hitting .048.

SECOND SET

Concordia-St. Paul bounced back and took a 9-3 lead in the second set. The Golden Bears went on to win the set 25-14. Concordia-St. Paul had 17 kills in the set.

THIRD SET

Concordia-St. Paul continued its momentum in to the third set when it jumped out to a 14-3 lead. The Golden Bears won the set 25-14. Concordia-St. Paul had 17 kills and hit .400 in the set.

FOURTH SET

Leading 12-7, Concordia-St. Paul went on an 8-0 run to lead 20-7. The Golden Bears won the set 25-13. Concordia-St. Paul had 18 kills and hit .333 in the set.

STATS

Harding

– Zoe Hardin led Harding with nine kills and six blocks.

– Katherine Cowart and Taylor Lake each had nine digs.

– Rachel Heussner had 23 assists, eight digs and four blocks.

– Harding hit .106 in the match.

Concordia-St. Paul

– Kennedy Brady had 27 kills for the Golden Bears.

– Sara Macek had 16 kills and Brooklyn Lewis had 11 kills.

– Tori Hanson had 19 digs.

– Concordia-St. Paul had 64 kills, 30 attack errors and hit .234.

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2018 All-ASN Volleyball Teams

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ALVA, Okla. – The Harding volleyball team had a season-high 19 team blocks as it defeated Northwestern Oklahoma 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-20) Saturday in Great American Conference action.

The Lady Bisons improve to 13-7 overall and 8-1 in the GAC.

Northwestern Oklahoma falls to 15-9 overall and 4-1 in the GAC.

FIRST SET

Leading 17-13 in the first set, Harding went on a 7-2 run to win the set 25-15. The Lady Bisons held Northwestern Oklahoma to hitting .073 in the set.

SECOND SET

With the second set tied at 16, Northwestern Oklahoma went on a 7-1 run to lead 23-17. Harding pulled within one 23-22 after a 5-0 run and then after two Lady Bison attack errors the Rangers won the set 25-22. Northwestern Oklahoma had 16 kills in the set.

THIRD SET

Harding jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the third set and went on to win the set 25-16. Harding had 13 kills and hit .379.

FOURTH SET

Trailing 14-10 in the fourth set, Harding went on a 15-6 run to win the set 25-20. The Lady Bisons forced nine attack errors in the fourth set.

STATS

Harding

–          Zoe Hardin led Harding with 14 kills and seven blocks.

–          Emma Reeves had 11 kills, no attack errors and hit .423. She also had five blocks.
–          Annesly Young had a career-high nine blocks in two sets.

–          Taylor Lake had 28 digs.

Northwestern Oklahoma

–          Kiauna Clark led Northwestern Oklahoma with 15 kills.

–          Tobi Barker led the defense with 12 digs.

UP NEXT

Harding will play its final non-conference match of the season Tuesday at home against Lyon. First serve is at 6 p.m.

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SEARCY – The Harding volleyball team defeated Arkansas-Monticello 3-1 (25-16,24-26, 25-15, 25-14) on Thursday to claim its third Great American Conference Regular Season Championship.

Coming into tonight, the Lady Bisons were tied with Ouachita, Arkansas Tech and Oklahoma Baptist for first place in the GAC standings. Ouachita defeated Arkansas Tech and Oklahoma Baptist lost to Southern Nazarene which gave Ouachita and Harding a share of the regular season championship.

Harding has the tie breaker over Ouachita which will give them the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GAC Tournament held in Hot Springs, Ark., Nov. 17-19. The Lady Bisons will face the No. 8 seed Southeastern Oklahoma on Thursday. Time is still yet to be determined.

After the match, the Lady Bisons recognized Abigail Glosup, Sara Smith, and Bianca Trevino for their contributions to the Harding volleyball program.

RECORDS

Harding improves to 21-7 overall and 12-4 in the GAC. Arkansas-Monticello falls to 12-16 overall and 8-8 in the GAC.

SET ONE HIGHLIGHTS

With the first set tied at 10, Harding went on a 7-1 run on three kills to lead 17-11. The Lady Bisons went on to win the set 25-16. Harding had 12 kills in the set and hit .345.

SET TWO HIGHLIGHTS

Arkansas-Monticello jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the third set before Harding battled back on an 8-2 run to lead 15-14. Trailing 22-21, the Lady Bisons went on a 3-0 run to lead 24-22 on two kills by Zoe Hardin. Arkansas-Monticello scored the next four points on two kills by Shay Mitchell to win the set 26-24.

SET THREE HIGHLIGHTS

Harding came out in the third set and led 16-8. Leading 20-14, the Lady Bisons closed the set on 5-1 run on five kills to win 25-15. Harding had 14 kills with only one attack error and went on to hit .500.

SET FOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Harding took a 7-3 early lead in the fourth set until Arkansas-Monticello battled back to pull within one 10-9. The Lady Bisons only allowed the Blossoms to scored five more points as Harding won 25-14. The Lady Bisons had 15 kills in the set and hit .333.

TEAM STATS

It was Harding’s third GAC regular season championship. The Lady Bisons also won in 2012 and 2013.

Harding had 10 team blocks in its second straight match. The Lady Bisons had 13 at Arkansas Tech on Tuesday.

Harding had 56 kills with only 10 attack errors on 121 attempts to hit .380. It was the eighth time this season the Lady Bisons have hit over .300 in a match.

Arkansas-Monticello had 42 kills and Harding forced 25 attack errors as the Blossoms hit .129 in the match.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Harding was led by Emily Clayton who had 13 kills and hit .435. Zoe Hardin, the reigning GAC Defender of the Week, had 11 kills and five blocks. Emma Reeves added 10 kills for the Lady Bisons.

The Lady Bisons defense was led by Taylor Lake and Madison Poen who each had 15 digs.

Arkansas-Monticello was led by Maggie Pyles who had 12 kills and hit .290. Macy Mitchell led the defense with 19 digs.

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Alyssa Arnold, John Brown, S, junior
Arnold recorded more than 1,300 assists in 2015, which was second in the SAC, and was also third on her team in digs. However, with the graduation of Libby Blasingame and All-American Audrey Dearien, Arnold will be directing her sets to a different group of hitters this year as the Golden Eagles try to earn double-digits in wins in the SAC for a fourth straight year.

Kori Bullard, Ouachita, MH, junior
Bullard fills the middle well and has averaged 72 blocks per season in her first two years at Ouachita. She is a two-sport star who also plays basketball for the Tigers, and may be called upon more in 2016 for her offense as well. Bullard was second on the team in kills last season at 2.92 per set – behind only Abby Pickett, the GAC Player of the Year – and she hit .292 on the year.

Ouachita’s Kori Bullard. Photo courtesy Ouachita Sports Info.

Kennedi Coleman, Arkansas-Fort Smith, OH, senior
With trips to the Elite Eight in 2015 and to the Final Four in 2014, this UAFS senior class has a lot of quality experience racked up. Coleman is one of those seniors who could make a big mark this season. She led the team in kills at 3.63 per set while hitting .217. Her defense was effective also as she had 71 blocks and 108 digs. Coleman was the only player to play in and start all 33 matches last year.

Lauren Corby, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, OH, junior
Points came at a premium last season for the Lions, but Corby along with Kayla Dowdell were key on offense during the wins. Dowdell has graduated and Corby should fill an even larger role this year. She had a near triple-double in the season finale, which was a win for UAPB. Can that be the springboard for a strong year in 2016?

Hunter Eshnaur, Arkansas Tech, OH, sophomore
As a freshman, Eshnaur led the GAC in points, earning 4.4 per set for her team. She was also third in the league with in kills (3.76 per set) and in service aces (.44 per set). Eshnaur was the 2015 GAC Freshman of the Year. She will be receiving passes from a new setter this year, with the departure of Sarita Stegall, but Arkansas Tech has become a factory under coach Kristy Bayer in developing setters in recent years and her scoring pace should continue unabated.

Zoe Hardin, Harding, MH, sophomore
Hardin is a force on the inside and could be big in bringing Harding back to the top of the GAC and beyond. She averaged 1.38 blocks per set, which was seventh in Division II in 2015, and had 159 total. Hardin also averaged 2.72 kills per set while hitting .315 on the year, third in the GAC. This is a team that should only get better over the next three seasons.

Adrianna Hartmann, Henderson State, MH, freshman
Offense was lacking for the Reddies in 2015, but coach Kristee Porter going into her second season on the job was able to sign a strong class in the winter. Hartmann could bring immediate help to the court. The incoming freshman recorded more than 500 kills in just her junior year at Fredericksburg (Texas) H.S. At 6-foot-2, Hartmann, along with 6-foot-3 sophomore Gabby Ginapp, may be able to shore up the HSU defense in the middle.

Serena LaDuff, Southern Arkansas, OH, senior
LaDuff, the GAC Newcomer of the year in 2015, led the league with 3.90 per set and recorded 499 on the season. She is a leader on a strong senior class that should help the transition for Brittany Davis from assistant into the position of head coach. LaDuff notched a league-high 26 kills in a five-set match against Southern Nazarene last season.

Audra Nailling, Williams Baptist, MH, sophomore
Nailling is the leading returner in blocks for the Eagles and has the second best hitting percentage returning. The sophomore brings height to the middle and is effective on offense. WBC has won 20 or more games in seven of the last nine seasons and are averaging 23 wins per season. Nailling will be key to keeping that streak going.

Hendrix’s M.C. Rogers. Photo courtesy HC Sports Info.

M.C. Rogers, Hendrix, OH, senior
Whoever takes over as head coach for the Warriors will inherit a roster that is heavy laden with seniors full of experience, led by Rogers. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter led the team in kills (3.17 per set) and was second in digs (3.35 per set) and second in service aces (35). Her presence can be felt all around the court and in the midst of the Warriors’ playoff run to the D-III national semifinals, Rogers had back-to-back games of at least 20 kills and at least 22 digs.

Markie Schaedig, Arkansas State, DS, senior
As a junior, Schaedig had 537 digs, which was 10th on the ASU list for a season and was second in the Sun Belt and 13th in Division I. She also owns the top spot on that list as well (762, 2014). Schaedig was the Sun Belt Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year in ’15 and an honorable mention All-American in ’14. She is one of five seniors and could help lead the team back to return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Edina Selimovic, Little Rock, MH, senior
Selimovic is in Little Rock record books and in the top 10 in career block assists, aces and total blocks and her career hitting percentage of .318 is currently at the top of that list as well. In her time with the Trojans, Selimovic has started in all 63 matches and played in all 224 sets in which she has had an opportunity to play. One of four seniors on the roster, the team needs her offense and leadership to keep pace with Arkansas State in the Sun Belt this year.

Rachel Sharp, Central Arkansas, OH, senior
UCA signed a large class this spring, with some players that will compete on the new beach volleyball team. But Sharp will be the lone senior on the squad in ’16. At 6-foot-1, she brings height to the outside and is the leading returner in service aces. Sharp is an all-around player who hit .165 last year and contributed significantly with both blocks and digs.

Savannah Shelton, Philander Smith, DS, freshman
The future could be now for Shelton, who comes to Philander Smith from just down the road in Bryant. It’s a young roster and the freshman has a chance to hit the court right off the bat, as she can serve, set and plays solid on defense as well.

Arkansas-Monticello’s Kya Standford. Photo courtesy UAM Sports Info.

Kya Standford, Arkansas-Monticello, MH, senior
Standford played in only 99 sets last year, but recorded 82 total blocks. She also led the Cotton Blossoms with a hitting percentage of .209, fifth all-time for the program. Standford seemed to get stronger as the season went along and scored double figures in points in six of the last 11 games. Her presence in the middle will be important for UAM this year.

Madisson Williams, Lyon, L, sophomore
Williams averaged 3.4 digs per set as a freshman and had 22 aces while not afraid to be aggressive on the serve. A member of a big freshman class in 2015, Williams and the Scots had the most wins (17) for the program since 2008 and the Scots look to poised to build on that in 2016.

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