DENTON, Texas – Hunter Eshnaur had a 27-kill afternoon, while Madison Nagel had a 39-dig performance as the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns volleyball team (1-1) split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Hilton Garden Inn Classic, topping Texas A&M-International 3-1 before falling 3-0 to Cameron.

"We came out with a lot of energy in the TAMIU match," said Golden Suns head coach Kristy Bayer. "Even though our passing wasn't great, we stayed competitive and physical."

In the opener, the Golden Suns picked off TAMIU in the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22 before the Dustdevils rallied to take a 28-26 win in the third set. Tech sealed the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set.

Eshnaur led Tech with 15 kills in her first collegiate match, hitting .231. Alyssa Kool dished out 28 assists, while Sarita Stegall added 16. Nagel's 26 digs led all players while Kaci Jackson added 13 in the winning effort.

The nightcap saw Cameron take a 27-25, 25-22, 25-22 win over the Golden Suns.

"The Cameron match was a different story," said Bayer. "They played unbelievable defense and we got frustrated in the long rallies."

Eshnaur turned in a match-high 12 kills and hit .226, while Kool added 26 assists and Stegall chipped in 13. Jackson's 16 digs led the Golden Suns while Nagel contributed 13.
The Golden Suns will conclude play at the Hilton Garden Inn Classic on Saturday.