RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball team opens their weekend in Oklahoma with a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-16, 25-23) against Northwestern Oklahoma. With the win over the Rangers, the Golden Suns move to 14-3 overall with an 8-0 record in conference play and extend their win streak to 11 straight games.

Leading the Golden Sun offense was senior middle blocker Emily Ragsdale and senior outside hitter Tymber Riley with 8 kills each. Junior outside hitter Kaitlynn Bradley added 5 kills and senior right-side hitter Haylee Paladini had 4. Junior setter Brianna Merkel paced the Golden Sun well with 25 assists.

Senior libero Madison Grantham led the Tech defense with 14 digs. Grantham also added 2 aces during the match. Ragsdale, Merkel and Bradley controlled the block game for the Golden Suns each having four total blocks, all assisted.

During the first set, Northwestern Oklahoma got off to a strong start with a 7-3 lead. Arkansas Tech came right back to tie it 7-7. Two kills from Riley, a kill from Paladini and one from freshman outside hitter Abby Simpson gave Tech an 11-9 lead. The Golden Suns never looked back after taking the lead and won the first set 25-18.

Tech would open the second set strong with a 10-3 lead over Northwestern Oklahoma. A trio of kills from Riley, one from Bradley and a service ace from Trysta Foster would extend the Golden Sun lead 17-5. The Rangers found a late 5-0 run to try and close the gap bringing it to a 21-15 score. The Golden Suns won four out of the last five points to win the set 25-16 capped off by a kill from Ragsdale.

The third set saw Northwestern Oklahoma jump out to an early lead once again at 4-1. They would continue to lead Arkansas Tech 11-9 as the set progressed. The Golden Suns hit a stride and rode an 8-0 run that included a trio of kills by Addison Masters, Ragsdale and Evelyn Fitz as well as two aces from Jamie Myrick to give them a 17-11 lead over the Rangers. This didn't bother Northwestern Oklahoma as they went on their own 5-0 run to make it a close 17-16 third set. Both sides tied it all up at 20 down the stretch. The Golden Suns would prevail closing out the match with a kill from Ragsdale and Merkel to take the final set 25-23 to earn the road sweep.

The Golden Suns' next match will be tomorrow Saturday, October 16 in Weatherford, Okla. against Southwestern Oklahoma. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.