RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns volleyball team continued its winning ways despite being tested by Henderson State, taking down the Reddies in five sets (25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-9). Senior Haylee Paladini led the match with a career-high 16 kills, hitting .353 for the match.
 
"I'm really proud of our win tonight," said head coach Kera Dukic. "We talk a lot about roles and the fact that great teams have layers who knwo their roles and play those roles well. We needed help from additional players tonight and they were fantastic. Always good to win a five set match!"

The Golden Suns opened the first set with a 9-4 lead after a kill from Mackenzie Eford. Arkansas Tech maintained a lead throughout the set, only letting the Reddies pull within four before finishing the set on a 3-1 run, taking the set 25-21 off a Paladini kill.
 
The teams traded points to open the second set until a 3-0 run put the Golden Suns up 10-7. The Reddies answered back with a 6-0 run, taking a 13-10 lead before a service error. Arkansas Tech could not find their rhythm and Henderson State went on 8-2 run, going up 21-13 before scoring three of the last four points, taking the set 25-17.
 
Henderson State opened the third set on a 7-2 run with strong serving and a balanced offensive attack. The Golden Suns paced their way back into the game, using a 4-0 run to pull within two at 17-15. A kill from Addison Masters gave Arkansas Tech a lead at 22-20 before the Reddies made two consecutive errors, giving the Golden Suns the third set, 25-21.
 
The fourth set started out close before Henderson State's Violeta Mendoza Quintana put down four consecutive kills and took a 14-8 lead. The Golden Suns were unable to answer back until they went on a 4-0 run to pull within five, 20-15 after an ace from Madison Grantham. The Reddies scored four of the last five points in the set, to take the fourth 25-19.
 
Arkansa Tech answered back to start the fifth and final set, opening with a 5-0 run with kills from Eford and Kaitlynn Bradley. A 4-0 from Henderson State brought the Reddies within one, 5-4. The Golden Suns won four of the next five points and took a 9-5 lead after another kill from Bradley. Emily Ragsdale put down a kill and Paladini and Eford combined on a block in the final two points to take the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.
 
The Golden Suns were led by Paladini, followed by Masters with 15 kills and eight from Eford. Brianna Merkel posted her third consecutive double-double with 46 assists and 13 digs. Madison Grantham anchored the defense with 27 digs. The Golden Suns also posted a season-high 14 blocks, led by Ragsdale with eight.