Searcy, Ark. – The SBU women's volleyball team opened the Harding Invitational Thursday evening with a hard-fought four-set loss to host Harding University. The Bearcats fell 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 17-25, moving to 7-2 on the season while Harding improved to 9-1.
The first two sets came down to the wire, with Harding narrowly taking each by a 25-23 score. Facing a 2-0 deficit, the Bearcats responded with their best offensive set of the night in the third. SBU recorded 14 kills while hitting .345 and held Harding to a .121 hitting percentage to take the set 25-20 and extend the match. The Bisons answered in the fourth, hitting .462 to close out the match with a 25-17 victory.
Hanna Klein led the Bearcat offense with a season-high 16 kills while hitting an impressive .394. Gabriela Dupree added 12 kills and 15 digs, while Julia Marinesi contributed seven kills and 11 digs. Kailey Sexton was nearly perfect offensively, recording six kills on nine attempts without an error for a .667 hitting percentage.
Allie Hawk directed the offense with 26 assists while adding 11 digs, and Danika Mejico contributed 16 assists. Melissa Patel led SBU defensively with 17 digs. The Bearcats also won the battle at the net, finishing with eight total blocks compared to five for Harding. Dupree led that effort with four blocks, while Sexton and Kiera Dent each added three.
Despite the loss, SBU outhit Harding .234 to .204 and committed just 17 attacking errors compared to 25 for the Bisons. Harding's advantage from the service line proved significant, however, as the hosts finished with 10 aces compared to three for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats move to 7-2 overall and continue play at the Harding Invitational Friday with a pair of matches. SBU will take on Southern Arkansas University at 9:00 a.m. before facing Union University at 4:30 p.m.
