DALLAS, Texas - The Arkansas Tech Volleyball team closed out their season opening weekend at the Dallas Baptist Invitational against #24 Wayne State, falling short of the win (21-25, 10-25, 15-25).

Tymber Riley lead the Golden Suns with nine kills and Emily Ragsdale following behind with four kills. Madison Grantham lead the defense with 11 digs while Brianna Merkel came up with four digs and had 15 assists on the match.

Wayne State opened the first set with an early 4-1 lead, but a kill from Emily Ragsdale would cut it to a 4-3 lead. Both teams continued to battle with the Golden Suns trying to take the lead. A kill by Tymber Riley would make it a one point game once again as Wayne State held on to an 11-10 lead. Arkansas Tech made a late 6-0 run capped off by an ace from Brianna Merkel that gave Tech a 20-19 lead. Both teams tied it at 21-21, with Wayne State finishing it out and taking the first set 25-21.

The Golden Suns opened up the second set against their nationally ranked opponent with a 4-2 lead following a kill from Haylee Paladini. Wayne State bounced back and took a 7-5 lead, but a service error cut their lead to just 6-5. From there, Wayne State took control and won the second set.

Wayne State took an early 5-3 lead to open the third set, but Tech fought back and took a 9-8 lead after a kill from Kaitlynn Bradley. Both teams continued to battle with the Golden Suns giving everything they had, but #24 Wayne State would take the third set and the match.

Head Volleyball Coach Kera Dukic was proud of the way her team performed against a nationally ranked opponent.

"Obviously not the result we we had hoped for in our final match of the tournament. However, I will say that we saw a lot of good things. We were able to keep up with a top 25 team in ways we haven't been able to in the past. We definitely got to see things we need to continue to get better at and we plan to do that this week. Fight on!"

The Golden Suns will head to Wichita Falls,Texas next to compete in the Midwestern State Invitational which will run from Friday, September 10 to Saturday, September 11. The opening match of the weekend will see a rematch between Tech and Eastern New Mexico on Friday, September 10.