RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Rolling through the midway point of its conference season, the Arkansas Tech women's volleyball team welcomes Southwestern Oklahoma and Northwestern Oklahoma to Tucker Coliseum this weekend for a pair of Great American Conference matchups.
The Golden Suns (13-5, 7-0 GAC) face off against the Bulldogs (10-7, 5-2 GAC) at 6 p.m. Friday before turning around to host the Rangers (6-11, 4-3 GAC) at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tech is a combined 13-1 against the two squads all-time, including a perfect 3-0 against NWOSU over the past three years. The Suns are on a 3-match winning streak against SWOSU as well, taking nine straight sets including a sweep in last year's GAC quarterfinals.
Tech has had nearly a week off since earn wins over Southeastern Oklahoma and East Central on a roadtrip last weekend. Freshman Hunter Eshnaur posted 30 kills on .333 hitting in the two matches, adding 15 digs and four aces, an effort that earned her first GAC Offensive Player of the Week award. She is second in the league with 3.71 kills per set, a number that goes up to 3.92 in league play, and her 15 aces in 25 conference sets is the best number in the GAC.
Katie Huff leads the league's third-best blocking team, which averages 1.75 per set. The senior puts up 0.90 per set herself, in addition to 2.60 kills on a .285 hitting percentage. Sophomore McCall Wilkins, who provided 12 kills and four blocks last week, adds 0.60 blocks and 2.06 kills on .239 hitting. Classmate Madison Nagel is fifth in the GAC with 5.06 digs per set, and is tied for eighth overall with 0.33 aces per set as well.
Freshman Sarita Stegall dished out 50 assists in the four-set win over Southeastern, adding 25 against East Central and 25 total digs over the two matches for her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season. She has a pair of GAC Setter of the Week honors to her name already, and is second in league play with 11.50 assists per set.
The Bulldogs are led by setter Kayla Hebert, who is third in the GAC with 9.90 assists per set and second with 0.46 aces. She is also fourth in hitting percentage, adding 1.14 kills per set while swinging at a .302 clip. Carly Zak leads the team and is fifth in the conference with 3.63 kills per set, and is third with 4.13 points while adding 3.02 digs. Paige Holt and Kelsi Schmitberger add 0.69 and 0.66 blocks, respectively.
Tech took a pair of victories last season from SWOSU, winning 3-0 on the road and turning in an impressive 25-16, 25-15, 25-18 victory in the first round of the postseason. Wilkins posted 18 kills and three blocks over the two matches, while Kaylee Konsella tallied 22 kills and four aces.
Northwestern comes into the weekend on a four-game winning streak, all in conference play, and are the top team in the GAC when it comes to opponent hitting percentage, holding foes to a .162 mark. Nora To'omalatai leads the team and is fourth in the conference with 3.64 kills and 4.04 points per set. Middle Natalie Fahey is hitting .292 on the season—and .331 in conference play—and adds 0.75 blocks and 0.36 aces as well.
The Golden Suns dropped their first set in the short history with the Rangers last season, but rebounded for a comfortable 3-1 win at Tucker Coliseum. Huff put up 11 kills, four blocks and two aces in the match, while Nagel added 23 kills.
The team will continue its Fight On Against Childhood Hunger initiative this weekend, asking fans to bring cans of soup to either match. All donations will go to River Valley Food 4 Kids.
Live video and statistics for both matches will be available at www.arkansastechsports.com.
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