DALLAS, Texas - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball team starts the 2021 season strong with two sweeps on the day at the Dallas Baptist Invitational.

The Golden Suns secured their first win of the season in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-8) against Eastern New Mexico. Leading the way for Tech was Emily Ragsdale with six kills. Brianna Merkel and Addison Masters followed each dishing out five kills.

Tech went up early with a 6-3 lead following an ace from Trysta Foster. Both teams continued to battle with each side taking seven of the next 14 points to make it a 13-10 lead for Arkansas Tech. The Golden Suns then took control of the set going on a 7-0 run off of mistakes made by the Greyhounds and a pair of kills from Addison Masters and Emily Ragsdale. Eastern New Mexico tried to mount a comeback but Arkansas Tech would take the first set 25-20.

Eastern New Mexico began the second set strong taking an early 5-2 lead in the set. The Golden Suns would battle back and tie the set 7-7 from an ace by Emily Ragsdale. An ace from Trysta Foster would give Tech a 16-13 lead, but a 4-0 run from Eastern New Mexico would put the greyhounds back on top with a 17-16 lead. With the set tied at 20, a pair of kills from both Masters and Emily Ragsdale gave the Golden Suns the boost they needed to take the second set 25-21.

The third and final set was entirely controlled by the Golden Suns, which included an 11-0 run capped off with a kill from Merkel to take a commanding 14-3 lead. The mistakes made by Eastern New Mexico in the third set cost them as Arkansas Tech would take the third set and the sweep with a 25-8 victory.

Following their stellar victory earlier in the day, the Golden Suns continued their strong showing with another sweep (25-20, 25-23, 25-15) against their second opponent Westminster College. Leading the way once again was Emily Ragsdale with 13 kills at an impressive .813 clip. Tymber Riley followed Ragsdale with a strong eight kills. Madison Grantham lead the way defensively with 11 digs followed by Brianna Merkel with eight digs. Merkel also racked up 24 assists.

Following an attack error from the Griffins, the Golden Suns took an early 7-3 lead in the opening set. A kill from Merkel would push Tech to an 11-6 lead. The Griffins would cut the Golden Suns lead to two making it 19-17. Tech would once again close out the set strong off of three kills from Ragsdale to take the first set 25-20.

Westminster opened the second set with a 9-4 lead against Tech. The Golden Suns fought back and took a 16-15 lead capped off with a 4-0 run. Both teams continued to battle with Westminster taking a late 23-21 lead. Fueled by a trio of kills from Haylee Paladini, Addison Masters and Emily Ragsdale, Arkansas Tech would close out the second set on a 4-0 to take the 25-23 victory.

Continuing their dominance in close out third sets, Tech built an impressive 12-0 run in the final set taking an 18-9 lead after an attack error by Westminster. The Griffins dug a hole for themselves committing too many mistakes and the Golden Suns secured their second sweep of the day and move to 2-0 on the season.

Head Volleyball Coach Kera Dukic had high praise for the team following their successful season openers.

"Today was a great day for this program. Not only did we get two wins to start the season, but we saw some of the best team camaraderie we've seen in years. It was so much fun watching our players be each other's biggest fans and just living in the moment with each other. I thought Brianna Merkel had a standout day, as well as Emily Ragsdale. Emily was absolutely lights out! We are the best defensively that we've been in a while for sure. We were able to get so many different players play time and watching the other players be supportive of that will really make a huge difference in our success this season. This is what we've been working for!"

Tech Volleyball will be back in action tomorrow September, 4 for their matchup against #24 Wayne State. The match is set to begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning. Tech's scheduled afternoon match against Dallas Baptist for tomorrow has been canceled with Dallas Baptist's withdrawal due to COVID-19 protocols.