SHAWNEE, Okla. — Grabbing a marathon first set and riding that momentum the rest of the way, the Arkansas Tech women's volleyball team picked up a sweep of second-place Oklahoma Baptist to remain undefeated in Great American Conference play and earn head coach Kristy Bayer her 300th career victory.
The Golden Suns (18-5, 10-0 GAC) stretched their winning streak to 12 matches and won their 22nd consecutive match in conference play, earning the win in their first matchup against the Bison (13-11, 8-2 GAC).
Tech held OBU to a .120 hitting percentage and picked up 90 digs in an excellent defensive performance. Sophomore Madison Nagel led the way with 24 digs, while freshmen Sarita Stegall and Hunter Eshnaur provided 17 and 15, respectively.
"We played unbelievable defense tonight," Bayer said. "Oklahoma Baptist is one of the most defensive teams we have played all year. They came out digging everything we gave them. Madi Nagel was outstanding tonight. She was aggressive and didn't let anything hit the floor."
Eshnaur posted 13 kills to lead the team, and Stegall added 41 assists as both grabbed their 10th double-doubles of the season. Senior Kaci Jackson put up 14 digs and a pair of aces, and classmate Colleen Wooten added nine digs.
Offensively, senior Katie Huff contributed 12 kills on a .379 hitting percentage, while sophomore Haley Owen added 11 kills on .250 hitting for her fourth straight match with double-digit kills. Sophomore McCall Wilkins posted four kills and three blocks, and junior Kaylee Konsella added nine kills, a pair of blocks and an ace.
"Sarita Stegall was great tonight," Bayer said. "Her athleticism and speed helped us in the quick transition play. And Katie Huff was unstoppable. She came out competitive, and she did a great job leading our team offensively. She brought the power."
The hosts got off to a fast start in the first set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and extending the advantage to 11-5 and eventually as large as seven at 18-11 and 19-12. Kills by Owen and Konsella pulled the Suns back to within four at 20-16. With the Bison still leading, a pair of kills from Huff around one from Eshnaur got Tech back in the set down just one at 23-22, and the guests picked up three big points with the set on the line, getting an OBU error to tie things at 24, a Wilkins kill to draw even at 25 and another Konsella kill to make it 26-26.
A big block by Owen and Wilkins gave Tech its first lead of the night at 27-26 before a service error tied things up once again. Owen gave the Suns another lead with a kill, but that set point was countered by a Bison kill. Huff pounded home a kill to make it 29-28, and a wide hit by OBU gave Tech the win.
"Midway through the first set, we understood we had to pick up our defensive effort in order to come away with the W," Bayer said. "The come-from-behind win in Set 1 was huge for our momentum."
The Golden Suns carried that momentum into the second set, getting kills by Eshnaur, Konsella and Wilkins to take a 3-0 lead. The Bison climbed back into though, going up 12-8 after a quick three-point run, but Tech tied things up on a kill from Stegall to make it 13-13. The two teams went back-and-forth, but the Suns took the lead for good on back-to-back kills from Owen and Wilkins made it 22-21. After a quick point by the Bison, 3-0 run by Tech, on kills from Konsella, Owen and Huff, ended the threat.
Tech jumped out to a 3-0 lead for the second straight set to start the third, bolstered by a pair of Jackson aces. This time though, OBU would not come back to take a lead, tying things up once at 5-all, but a service error followed to give the Suns a lead they wouldn't give up. Tech scored eight of the next 10 points to take a commanding 13-7 lead. Owen chipped in two kills with a Konsella ace to push the lead back out to 17-12 after a short Bison run. The lead ballooned to 21-14 on a Huff kill and 22-15 on a kill by Wilkins. OBU would rally back, but a Konsella kill ended the 5-1 run, and a final kill by Huff completed the sweep.
The Golden Suns complete their tough two-day swing through Oklahoma Friday, heading to Bethany for a 3 p.m. matchup with third-place Southern Nazarene.
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