SEARCY, Ark. -- The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team fell in three sets (16-25,17-25,17-25) to Harding on Thursday evening during a Great American Conference contest inside Rhodes Fieldhouse. Southern Arkansas drops to 4-12 overall and 1-4 in GAC play, while Harding improves to 11-4 overall and 3-2 in league meetings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set of action was back and forth as junior Brittany Lampkin tied the game at 9-9, before Harding used an 11-3 to distance themselves from SAU down the stretch to take set 1, 25-16. Harding committed just three errors in 30 total attacks as they hit .367 as a team in the first frame.
• Southern Arkansas took their first lead of the match on the opening point of the second set. But it was an 8-0 run from the Lady Bisons who were down 7-5 that put them out front and a late 5-0 run that helped close the second set 25-17 in favor of Harding.
• SAU battled in the third set as they matched Harding point for point until a 14-14 tie. The Lady Bisons manufactured an 8-0 run after the tie to take the momentum and the match.
• Behind the conference's leading blocker in Zoe Hardin, Harding collected 12.0 total blocks as Hardin registered eight blocks; seven assisted. SAU produced 4.0 blocks.
• Southern Arkansas registered 15 more total attempts than Harding, but the Lady Bisons defense claimed one dig more than SAU's 48.

FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS

• Serena LeDuff led the SAU attack with a game-high 11 kills, while Kaitlyn Reiner and Alli O'Banion combined for 10 kills.
• Reiner produced a pair of blocks, while O'Banion, LeDuff and Lampkin added one each.
• Katy Cooper recorded 17 kills and Savannah Pillow added nine.
• Paige Mays collected a team-high dozen digs and Hannah Rice added nine.

FOR HARDING

• Sara Smith (8), Zoe Hardin (7), and Emma Reeves (7) led the Lady Bisons offense.
• Abigail Glosup registered a game-high 30 assists and added seven digs.
• Taylor Lake recorded a dozen digs and Alex Nolan added ten.

OF NOTE

• The Lady Muleriders begin the October portion of their schedule that includes seven games inside the W.T. Watson Center and their two longest league road trips of the season: Shawnee, Oklahoma (OBU) and Bethany, Oklahoma (SNU)

UP NEXT

• Southern Arkansas returns home for a nonconference meeting with Williams Baptist College on Monday, October 3, with a first-serve slated for 6 p.m. The Lady Muleriders will remain at home to close out the coming week as they host GAC-foe Northwestern Oklahoma State on Friday, October 7, at 7 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center.
• Live stats for both matchups are available here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/saumag/wvball/.
• Live video will also be available and can be found here: http://livestream.com/accounts/10140781.
• Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider Volleyball including pre- and post-game updates, weekly notes, and the coach's show with Head Coach Britney Davis.