RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball team dominates in a sweep against #19 Oklahoma Baptist (25-16, 25-19, 25-20) to win their ninth straight match. The Golden Suns still maintain the only perfect record in conference play among all GAC teams moving to 6-0 on the season and 12-3 overall.
Leading the offense was senior outside hitter Tymber Riley with 17 kills on the night. Senior middle blocker Emily Ragsdale followed behind Riley notching 11 kills against the Lady Bison. Ragsdale killed 11 out of her 22 total attempts. Senior right-side hitter Haylee Paladini also contributed with nine kills in the match. Pacing the offense was junior setter Brianna Merkel with 33 assists.
Leading the defensive effort by the Golden Suns was senior libero Madison Grantham with 17 digs. Riley also played a big role on defense for Tech coming up with nine digs. Freshman libero Jamie Myrick had eight digs in the match. Junior outside hitter Kaitlynn Bradley led the Golden Suns in blocks with two solo.
The Golden Suns have been flawless playing on home court with a perfect 4-0 record. Tonight was no different in the sweep against Oklahoma Baptist, their second straight sweep after doing the same to Harding last week.
The first set saw small runs by both teams to open the match. Tech began to pull away with a 5-0 run in the middle of the set that was fueled by a kill from Ragsdale, an ace from Myrick and a trio of kills from Riley. A pair of kills from Bradley and one from Paladini sparked a 4-0 run by the Golden Suns late in the set to give them an edge. The set was capped off by a kill from Riley to win 25-16.
Tech saw an early 5-0 run to open the second set due to costly errors made by Oklahoma Baptist. Another 5-0 run for the Golden Suns came from an ace by Myrick and a pair of kills from Riley and Ragsdale to give them an 11-3 lead over the Lady Bison. 10 of the next 11 points came from kills made by the dominant Arkansas Tech offense. The errors made by the Lady Bison continued to cost them as an attack error would give Tech the 25-19 second set win.
The third and final set began closer as both sides went back and forth. Tech was able to pull away to take a 14-8 lead off a pair of kills from Paladini. The Golden Suns continued to control the match offensively with two kills from Merkel and one from Riley to take a 20-13 lead down the stretch. An ace from Riley and two kills from Paladini extended it to a 23-15 lead. The Golden Suns closed out the match with a pair of kills from Paladini to win the third set 25-20 and earn their second straight sweep.
Head Volleyball Coach Kera Dukic was thrilled to see the focus her team showed as well as the energy the crowd brought to the match.
"I'm so unbelievably proud of this team. Again, they were so locked in tonight! Focused, determined, and passionate. The fans were absolutely amazing! It was the first time they all sat together in the same section and nothing made me happier than for us to run over there and sing the fight song with them after we won. This was the kind of match the team, the crowd, and I will never forget. Now it's time to focus on Southern Nazarene!"
The Golden Suns return to action again tomorrow Saturday, October 9 to take on Southern Nazarene. The match is set to begin at noon tomorrow afternoon in Tucker Coliseum.
