RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball team will play their final match of the regular season tomorrow, Thursday, November 11 in Tucker Coliseum against Ouachita Baptist. Tomorrow's match will also be senior night which will honor the six seniors on the team this season. The Golden Sun's senior class consists of Tymber Riley, Emily Ragsdale, Maggie Schlueter, Addison Masters, Haylee Paladini and Madison Grantham.
Currently, the Golden Suns sit at 18-7 overall with a 12-3 record in conference play. Tech is 8-0 at home and will look to close out the season being undefeated when playing in Tucker. The Golden Suns last match was on the road against Arkansas-Monticello where they earned a stellar 3-0 sweep.
Ouachita Baptist is currently 9-19 overall and 4-11 among conference games. In their last match, the Tigers fell to Henderson State 3-0.
This will be the second and final match between Arkansas Tech and Ouachita this season. The Golden Suns won the first match of the season in Arkadelphia against the tigers 3-1.
Seniors Haylee Paladini and Tymber Riley, along with junior Kaitlynn Bradley will once again be at the forefront of the offensive attack for the Golden Suns. Senior middle blocker Emily Ragsdale and freshman Abby Simpson should also help contribute to the offensive end. The Golden Suns offense will be paced by junior setter Brianna Merkel who has 634 assists on the season while averaging 7.04 assists per set.
On the defensive end, the dig effort will be led by senior libero Madison Grantham who has 381 total digs on the season while averaging 4.19 digs per set. Riley should also have a big impact on the defensive end to come up with crucial digs. Holding down the front of the net will be Ragsdale who leads the team in total blocks with 70 on the season. Bradley and Paladini will also have a strong defensive presence in front. The Golden Suns are currently third in blocks among all GAC teams.
The match against Ouachita will be this Thursday night in Tucker Coliseum. The match is set for a 6 p.m. start.
