RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball team will hit the road to Arkadelphia for their next match against Henderson State.
In their last match, the Golden Suns picked up a 3-0 sweep in Tucker against Southern Arkansas continuing their dominant play at home. Following the win, Tech moved to 17-5 overall and an 11-1 record in conference play. The Golden Suns still stay atop the GAC standings with the best conference record.
Henderson State is currently 17-8 overall with a 6-6 record among conference games and sits among the middle of the pack in the GAC standings at the sixth overall spot. In their last match, Henderson State took an 0-3 sweep loss in Searcy against Harding.
This is the second match of the season between the Golden Suns and Reddies. The last match was played in Russellville in Tucker where Tech picked up the 3-1 victory.
On the offensive attack for the Golden Suns will be seniors Tymber Riley, Emily Ragsdale and Haylee Paladini. Look for junior Kaitlynn Bradley to make an impact on the offense as well as freshman Abby Simpson. Riley leads Tech in total kills with 246 while averaging 3.28 kills per set on the season.
Expect junior setter Brianna Merkel and sophomore setter Gracie Palmer to pace Tech's offense. Merkel has been strong all season and leads the team in assists with 543 while averaging 7.05 assists per set. Last week, Palmer made the most of her minutes and led the team in assist across the week's two matches with 40.
Senior libero Madison Grantham should lead the team in digs on the defensive end as she has all season. Grantham currently has 310 digs on the season while averaging 3.97 digs per set. Riley and junior Megan Solberg should also have strong dig contributions. Ragsdale will hold down the front line well as she leads the team in blocks with 62 on the season. Bradley and Paladini should follow and provide blocks for the Golden Sun defense.
The match against Henderson State will be tomorrow, Tuesday, November 2 in Arkadelphia and is set for a 6:30 p.m. start.
