RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech volleyball team fell to Arkansas-Fort Smith 0-3 on Monday night in Tucker Coliseum in their nonconference matchup. Following the match, the Golden Suns are 5-16 overall and stay at a 3-6 record against Great American Conference opponents.
The start of the opening set was close with both sides securing early points, but a 5-1 run gave UAFS an early 7-3 advantage. A pair of errors by the Lions and kills from
Ava Johnson and
Kaitlyn Neal brought Arkansas Tech back to within three still down 7-10. Another kill by Neal and an error by UAFS brought the set to within two points. Then, a 4-0 run by the Golden Suns fueled by two service aces from
Jenna Keller and kills from Neal and
Heather Thomas tied the set at 13-13. The Lions quickly struck back however putting together their own 6-1 run to take a 19-14 lead down the stretch. UAFS would close out the set on a 6-1 run to give them the 25-16 first set win.
In the second set, the Lions jumped out with an early 5-3 lead, but not before a trio of kills from Neal,
Brianna Merkel and
Gracie Palmer led the Golden Suns on a 3-0 run to take a 6-5 lead. An error by UAFS and kills from
Lydia Hale and
Maddi Siedenburg kept the Golden Suns in front with a 10-9 lead. The Lions would regain the lead with a 4-0 run to put them up 15-12 in the middle of the set. The Golden Suns would get a few points back, but the Lions kept pace and held the lead. From there, UAFS strung together three separate 3-0 runs to close out the second set of action and take set two 25-17.
To start the third set UAFS quickly got to work establishing an early 6-2 lead over Tech. The Golden Suns fought back with a pair of kills from Siedenburg and Thomas to cut it to a 6-4 Lion lead. Then, the Lions grabbed a 9-1 run that put them up 15-5 in the middle of the set. A kill from Thomas and two from
Sierra Orton would try and get Arkansas Tech back in the set with the Lions still leading 19-10. The Golden Suns wouldn't back down though as they put together a 6-1 run that saw kills from Orton, Siedenburg and Thomas as well as an ace from
Megan Solberg to cut the lead to just four still down 16-20. The Lions would shut the door on the comeback however ending on a 5-1 run to take the third set 25-17 and the match.Â
Leading the Golden Suns on offense was Siedenburg with seven kills on the night. Following her was Thomas with six kills, while the pair of Orton and Neal each picked up five. Pacing the Golden Sun offense was Merkel who logged 16 assists in the match against the Lions. In terms of aces, Keller led the team collecting two in the match.
On defense, Keller was the anchor with a team-high 11 digs, while the pair of Solberg and Palmer racked up 10 digs each. Holding down the front of the net for the Golden Suns was Thomas who put down two solo blocks and one assisted for three total blocks against the Lions.
The Golden Suns will hit the road for their next matchup in Bethany, Okla. on Thursday as they take on Southern Nazarene. The match against the Crimson Storm is set for a 6 p.m. first serve.Â
