RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - No. 16 Arkansas Tech won its 23rd consecutive match on Friday, defeating Southwestern Oklahoma, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-21). 

UP NEXT

• Arkansas Tech (23-0, 8-0 GAC) returns to Tucker Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 14, for a 2 p.m. contest against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Live statistics and video are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Southwestern Oklahoma (9-14, 5-3 GAC) took the first lead in all three sets. A 5-1 run in first set, however, gave the Golden Suns a lead that they held for the rest of the set.
• With Tech leading 14-12 in the first game, Greer Rogers sparked a 9-2 run with a kill that eventually put the Suns ahead, 23-14. Arkansas Tech later took the set and a 1-0 lead in the match after a kill by Lexie Johnston and a service error by the Bulldogs.
• The Golden Suns controlled the second set on both offense and defense, hitting .268 with match-high 18 kills, while limiting Southwestern to just six kills and a .059 attack percentage.
• Tech used a 7-0 run midway through the set to take a 23-16 lead, before Amanda Milnick later ended the game with her second kill of the match. 
• Arkansas Tech's most efficient set on offense came in the third game, as the Suns hit .343 with just four attack errors. 
• A 6-2 run by the Bulldogs put SWOSU ahead, 15-11, in the third set, but Arkansas Tech immediately responded with five straight points to take back the lead. The Suns eventually took the set, 25-21, ending the match with three consecutive points.

NOTABLES

• Arkansas Tech extends its win streak to 23 matches, three shy of tying the program record. 
• The Golden Suns remain first in the Great American Conference standings, one game ahead of Harding and Oklahoma Baptist.
• Arkansas Tech hit .300 as a team in the victory, the Suns' 12th match this season in which they hit at least .300.
• Allie Anderson and Tabitha Spray led all players with 10 kills each, and both also posted a team-high .421 attack percentage. 
• Milnick finished with a match-high 33 assists to go with nine digs, while Madison Nagel tallied 17 digs to lead all players.

HEAD COACH KRISTY BAYER SAYS

• "I thought we did a really good job of maintaining intensity and battling back and forth the entire match. The one thing we did not do well is start off each set with a bang. We started in a whole almost ever single set, and then we had to dig ourselves out of that hole."
• "I thought our outside hitters did a great job tonight. I thought Allie Anderson and Hunter Eshnaur did an amazing job of putting the ball away. Allie was reaching really high and hitting over the blocks, and Hunter did a good job of seeing the splits in the block and moving the ball around on the court."