RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball Team secures the win in their home opener against Arkansas-Monticello (25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 17-15) in a wild five set match.

Leading the way for the offense was Emily Ragsdale with 15 kills pushing her total kills to 65, which is a new season high for the senior middle blocker. Following Ragsdale was freshman outside hitter Abby Simpson with 11 kills and senior right-side hitter Haylee Paladini with 10.

Senior Libero Madison Grantham lead the defensive effort by the Golden Suns with 19 digs on the night and senior outside hitter Tymber Riley contributed with nine digs. Junior outside hitter Kaitlynn Bradley lead the team in blocks with five and Ragsdale blocked four.

Tech opened the first set strong taking an early 5-2 lead following a kill from Ragsdale. A kill from Paladini and an ace from Riley extended the Golden Sun lead 14-8. Arkansas-Monticello fought their way back on a 5-0 run to cut the Tech lead to just 14-13. The Golden Suns proceeded to advance on their own 5-0 run capped off by an attack error from the Cotton Blossoms to push their lead back to 19-13. Tech would only allow two more points to be scored by Arkansas-Monticello and would close out the first set on a 6-0 run to claim the 25-15 win.

In the second set, Arkansas-Monticello would take an early 6-4 advantage before Tech would make a 3-0 run to a 7-6 lead. The Cotton Blossoms took a 10-8 lead, before another 3-0 run by the Golden Suns would put them up by one once again. Both teams continued to battle tied at 15, with each side looking for a run to break open the set. The Golden Suns would be the team to break the set open going on a 4-0 run capped off by two kills from Abby Simpson and Brianna Merkel. Tech would close out with a 6-2 run to claim the 25-17 second set win and take a commanding 2-0 set lead.

The Cotton Blossom's weren't going down without a fight however. The early third set advantage went to Tech starting with an 11-10 lead following a kill from Ragsdale. An 8-2 run by the Cotton Blossoms would give them a nice 18-13 lead down the stretch and it looked like smooth sailing from there. The Golden Suns fought back however going on a 6-1 run to tie the third set up at 19. Two team errors by Arkansas-Monticello would put Tech back on top and in position to sweep with a 21-20 lead. The Cotton Blossom's wouldn't give up and pulled a late 3-0 run to take a 23-21 lead, but not before the Golden Suns would tie it all back up at 23. The final blow of the set would belong to Arkansas-Monticello though as a kill and ace would help them avoid the sweep to take a 23-25 third set win over Tech.

The fourth set began a close one as both teams tied it 3-3 early. A few errors by the Golden Suns would elevate the Cotton Blossoms to an 8-4 lead. Tech would try to break a gap into the lead Arkansas-Monticello held, but with every small run, Arkansas-Monticello would respond with their own eventually taking a 20-14 lead over Tech. This time, it would be the Cotton Blossoms who would commit the errors and give the Golden Suns a chance to catch up cutting it to 21-18. A few more errors by Arkansas-Monticello and a kill from Ragsdale would bring Tech within two points. A final kill from the Cotton Blossoms would help them take the 25-22 fourth set victory and send the match to a fifth set thriller.

Arkansas Monticello would open the final set with three kills to go up 3-1. Two kills from Ragsdale and one from Simpson would tie it all up 6-6. The match continued to be a fierce battle between both teams with nine straight alternating rallies before Arkansas Tech would be the first to break open the set with a 3-0 run capped off by an ace from Trysta Foster. This put the Golden Suns in the drivers seat and within striking distance of winning the match holding a 13-11 lead. The Cotton Blossoms once again refused to go down quickly tying everything back up at 13. Alternating kills from both sides would force an extended fifth set with Tech leading 15-14. A service error by the Golden Suns would tie it all up at 15. Arkansas Tech would brave the storm and break through to the final two points off of a pair of kills from Kaitlynn Bradley and Haylee Paladini to put an end to Arkansas-Monticello's comeback attempts and win the final set 17-15, giving them a 3-2 match victory.

The Golden Suns closed out the fifth and final set with an impressive 13 kills and only a single attacking error.

Head Volleyball Coach Kera Dukic was happy the team was able to pull out the win, but knows there is more work to be done.

"A win is a win! We'll take it. We definitely appreciate all the fans coming out tonight and showing their support. In the future, you can expect to see us close matches with more focus and intention! Fight on!"

Volleyball will hit the road again this weekend and head to Jackson, Tenn. for the Union Invitational. The tournament is set to run from Friday, September 17-18 and will see the Golden Suns facing three opponents across both days.