HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - After a thrilling sweep against Henderson State in the quarterfinals yesterday afternoon, the Arkansas Tech Volleyball team knocks of Southwestern Oklahoma State 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14) in the semi-finals of the 2021 GAC Tournament and advance to the finals where they will play for the GAC Championship tomorrow afternoon. 

Senior right-side hitter Haylee Paladini led the Golden Sun offense in dominant fashion. Paladini could not be stopped on the offensive attack with an extraordinary 19 kills at a .447 clip. Her 19 kills against Southwestern Oklahoma in the semi-finals is a new season-high for the right-side hitter. It's also Paladini's second highest number of kills in a match in her career as a member of the Golden Suns, with the 22 kills against Henderson State last season being her career high. Following Paladini was senior outside hitter Tymber Riley putting down 10 kills, an ace and also grabbing seven digs in the semi-final match. Senior middle blocker Emily Ragsdale added nine kills and an ace. Junior Kaitlynn Bradley and freshman Abby Simpson poured in seven kills each. Senior Madison Grantham did a phenomenal job serving the ball for the Golden Suns with four service aces. Pacing the offense was Junior Brianna Merkel tying her season-high in assists with 42 and notching a solid three aces.

Anchoring the defense was Grantham leading Tech in digs with 22. Merkel also did an excellent job on defense with 19 digs and junior libero Megan Solberg came up with 14 digs. Holding down the front line for the Golden Suns was Bradley with five total blocks in the match. Alongside Bradley was Riley, Paladini and Ragsdale combining for nine total blocks with each picking up three.

Southwestern opened the first set making a statement with an early 7-1 lead and continued to hold the lead into the set with Tech trying to get back in it, eventually reaching a 14-12 score. A quick 3-0 run by the Golden Suns that was fueled by a kill from Merkel and Simpson finally gave the Golden Suns a 15-14 lead over the Bulldogs. A pair of kills by Lacy Mott and Markenzie Benoit quickly put Southwestern back on top 17-15. Then, the Golden Suns found their offensive rhythm with an incredible 6-0 run that saw a kill from Bradley, three kills from Paladini and two service aces from Merkel to give them a 22-18 lead. An ace from freshman Jamie Myrick and a kill from Paladini gave Tech the 25-19 first set win.

This time it would be the Golden Suns to set the tone opening the second set with a 12-7 lead capped off by a kill from Paladini. A kill from Ragsdale, an ace from Solberg, a kill from Merkel and an ace from Riley would extend Tech's lead over Southwestern 17-12 in the second set. The Bulldogs wouldn't go down without a fight as they found a late 7-0 run fueled by two kills from Mackenzie Harless to give them a 20-18 lead against the Golden Suns down the stretch. Arkansas Tech would close out the second set with a 7-2 run led by Paladini with three kills, Riley with two kills, Ragsdale with a single kill and an ace from Grantham to take a close 25-22 second set victory.

Once again the Golden Suns started off the set hot pulling out to an 11-6 lead capped off by a kill from Merkel. Another kill from Merkel and an ace by Ragsdale would push Tech to a 13-10 lead. The Bulldogs once again clawed their way back to a lead off a 6-1 run finished off with a kill from Harless to take the 16-14 lead. The Golden Suns took a late 19-18 lead in the set thanks to a kill from Paladini. Southwestern would finish the set on a 7-1 run to win it 25-20 and make it a 2-1 match to force a fourth set.

In the fourth and final set Tech led 6-3 early on due to five errors made by Southwestern. A quick 4-0 run by the Bulldogs led by Samantha Kuzma's three kills saw them take a 7-6 lead. The Golden Suns found their own run scoring six straight points that included two kills from Paladini, a kill from Riley and a service ace for Grantham to take a 13-8 lead. Southwestern would try to mount another comeback, but ran out of juice as the Golden Suns closed the match on an impressive 11-3 run led by Simpson's three kills to give them a 25-14 fourth set win and victory in the semi-final match.

The Golden Suns will play for the GAC Championship tomorrow, Saturday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m. in Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.