RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Despite dropping the first two sets to Harding, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns won a five-set thriller on Tuesday, moving into a four-way tie for first in the Great American Conference standings. Kaylee Konsella led the way on senior night, tallying a season-high 20 kills including the match-winner.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Harding (20-7, 11-4 GAC) dominated early, as the Golden Suns were forced to commit 15 attack errors through the first two sets.
• The Lady Bisons won the first set, 25-20, behind a .219 team hitting percentage. Tech was held to hit just .065, the lowest of any set in the match.
• Tech (21-10, 11-4 GAC) failed to establish a lead at all in the second set, as Harding took the first point and never allowed the Golden Suns to take an advantage. Harding finished the set with a .231 hitting percentage and five blocks.
• The Golden Suns finally took a lead in the third set, after a kill by Hunter Eshnaur. The Lady Bisons eventually took the lead back, however, with a 5-0 run midway through the game.
• After Harding claimed its largest lead of the third set at 18-12, a kill by Lauren Rodemers sparked a 6-0 by Tech to tie the score. The Golden Suns then secured the final three points of the game to force a fourth set.
• Tech's defense controlled the fourth set, limiting Harding to just 10 kills while forcing six attack errors. The Golden Suns coasted to a fourth-set win, with McCall Wilkins leading all players with six kills in the game.
• In the fifth set, Harding took a five-point lead on three separate occasions, the last being a 12-7 lead after a kill by Alex Nolan. The Golden Suns responded, however, with seven straight points, including three aces by Amanda Milnick.
• After Harding tied the score at 14-14, Tech took the final two points on kills by Eshnaur and Konsella to escape with the win.

 
NOTABLES

• The win gives Tech sixth straight victories, currently the longest streak in the GAC. With losses by Harding and Oklahoma Baptist, and a win by Ouachita, the GAC standings feature a four-way tie for first.
• The comeback-win is the first time the Golden Suns have come back from a two-set deficit since Sept. 9 against Drury.
• Tech posted a combined attack percentage of just .089 in the first two sets, but hit .235 in the final three sets.
• The Golden Suns set a season-high in GAC play with 71 kills, while recording 101 digs, the most since compiling 110 against Dallas Baptist in 2013.
• Behind Konsella's 20 kills to lead all players, Eshnaur finished with 18 kills and 20 digs, her 15^th double-double of the season. Wilkins also added 13 kills and a team-high .267 hitting percentage.
• Milnick set a new career-high with 54 assists and earned her ninth career double-double with 14 digs. Madison Nagel recorded 26 digs, the most by Nagel in a conference contest since getting 29 against Harding in 2014. Matti Dix followed with a career-high 25 digs.

 
COACH BAYER SAYS

• "We just did not play well in the first two sets. We were completely flat. It was just this team's will and desire to fight back."
• "On the defensive side, we had multiple players with 20-plus digs. Our defense was on fire. Once we got into a groove and started to be a little more aggressive, defensively, we were able to stay in those rallies."

 
NEXT UP

• Arkansas Tech will close out the 2016 regular season in Arkadelphia on Thursday, as the Golden Suns take on Ouachita. The GAC contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.