MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Despite trailing late in the fifth set in their Great American Conference opening match on the road against Southern Arkansas, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns rallied to score eight of the last 11 points to come away with a 3-2 (19-25, 25-12, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13) victory Tuesday night.
"I am extremely proud of the way we played tonight," said Golden Suns head coach Kristy Bayer. "SAU packed the gym. It was loud, there were several times we lost momentum, but we always fought back."

Arkansas Tech got outstanding double-double efforts out of their two phenomenal freshmen. Hunter Eshnaur led the way with a career-high 19 kills on a .342 attack percentage while coming away with a career-best 13 digs. Sarita Stegall also recorded her second consecutive double-double with a career-best 57 assists, averaging a season-best 11.4 assists per set. Both Eshnaur and Stegall helped put the match away in the fifth set, as Eshnaur recorded two kills during the 8-3 run and Stegall finished off the match with a game-winning ace.

"Our offense was on fire tonight," said Bayer. "Sarita did a great job distributing the ball."

Kaylee Konsella had a strong night at the net, recording a season-high 15 kills on a .438 attack percentage as well as tying her season-highs in both total blocks (6) and digs (6). It was also the third consecutive match that Katie Huff recorded double-digit kills with an over .400 attack percentage. Huff finished the night with a season-high 15 kills on a .429 attack percentage.
"This was a good test, especially for our younger players," added Bayer. "Conference road play is always going to be a battle."

After coming away with a tough road victory, the Golden Suns will return home for a couple of challenging home opponents for the Arkansas Tech GAC/MIAA Crossover. Tech will take on a pair of ranked opponents on Friday at Tucker Coliseum, as they will match up with No. 7 Washburn at 11 a.m. and then take on No. 6 Central Missouri at 5 p.m.