RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech volleyball team falls to Drury at home 0-3 in a nonconference matchup. Following the match, Tech moves to 5-19 overall and stay 3-8 in conference play.

In the first set, Drury opened with an early 5-0 lead. A few errors by the Panthers and a pair of kills from Heather Thomas and Maddi Siedenburg helped cut the lead to one at 5-6. From there, Drury made their way to a 6-3 run to go up 12-8 over the Golden Suns. Two kills from Kaitlyn Neal and an ace from Aspen Jankowski once again helped Arkansas Tech get back into the fight down just one point once again at 12-13. The Panthers quickly responded going on a 7-2 to take a 20-14 lead down the stretch. Drury managed to hold a 24-18 lead at set point, but the Golden Suns wouldn't go down yet putting together a 4-0 run thanks to kills from Abigail Weaver and Thomas as well as an ace from Jankowski to make it a 24-22 Drury lead. The Panthers would close out the set there however and take the first set 25-22.

In the second set of play, Drury started hot once again opening the set with a 12-4 advantage over Arkansas Tech. A kill from Brianna Merkel and one from Siedenburg would help the Golden Suns get back in the fight. The Panthers continued their attack, eventually pushing their lead up to 22-13. Siedenburg would pick up another kill before the Panthers would close out the second set with three straight points to take the second set of the night 25-14.

Once again, the Panthers opened with a lead at 14-4 early on in the third set of action. The Golden Suns would manage to cut the Drury lead to 10 at 18-8 thanks to a pair of kills from Weaver and Neal as well as another ace from Jankowski. The trio of Siedenburg, Merkel and Weaver would all collect kills before the Panthers closed out the match and took the third and final set of the night 25-12.

Leading the offense for Arkansas Tech was Siedenburg with seven total kills. Following her was Neal with five, while the pair of Thomas and Weaver had four each. Thomas managed to produce a .500 hitting percentage on her five kills. Pacing the Golden Suns on offense was Jankowski with 11 assists against the Panthers. She also led the team in service aces on the night with three.

On defense, Megan Solberg and Jamie Myrick led the Golden Suns with 10 digs each. Holding down the front of the net for Arkansas Tech was Merkel with one solo block.

The Golden Suns return to Great American Conference play for their next matchup on Thursday as they host Arkansas-Monticello. The match against the Cotton Blossoms is set for a 6 p.m. first serve in Tucker Coliseum.  Read Full Article