RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech volleyball team defeated Henderson State 3-1 on Tuesday evening in Tucker Coliseum. The Golden Suns are now 7-19 overall with a 5-8 record in conference play.
In the first set, things started close with both teams fighting back and forth. Eventually, Tech managed to go on a 4-0 run led by
Maddi Siedenburg with two kills to take control of the match 14-11. Henderson would make a 5-0 run down the stretch to go up 21-19. A kill by
Heather Thomas would pull the Golden Suns within one, but the Reddies would close out the set taking it with a narrow 25-23 win.
In the second set, a kill from Thomas and
Brianna Merkel would help Tech jump out to an early 8-5 lead. The Reddies would strike right back and take the lead 10-8. Henderson would extend their lead up to 18-14 with the Golden Suns battling hard to get back in the set. They would do just that on a 7-2 run that was capped off by a kill from
Gracie Palmer to put them back in front 21-20 late in the set. The Reddies would once again take the lead with the score at 23-22, but the Golden Suns would close out the set on a 3-0 run to cap off a wild set to win the second set 25-23.
In the third set, Henderson State looked to take a strong lead early getting started with a big 12-5 lead over the Golden Suns. The Golden Suns stayed the course and in the fight though as they began to dig their heels in and fight back. An incredible 18-11 run by Arkansas Tech led them to a huge comeback to get them back in the set tying it at 24-24. The next few points went back and forth, but following a kill from
Kaitlyn Neal that gave them the advantage in the set, Merkel finished off the impressive comeback with a kill to give the Golden Suns the 28-26 third set win.Â
In the fourth and final set of the night, both sides would fight hard back and forth early until a kill by
Sierra Orton and one from Merkel put Arkansas Tech on top 8-6 early. The Reddies responded with a 6-0 run to take back the lead at 12-8. Following that, the Golden Suns put their foot on the gas and never let up scoring eleven straight unanswered points to take charge with a commanding 19-12 lead in the fourth set. The Golden Suns would only allow Henderson State to score four more points as a pair of kills from Siedenburg and Neal gave them a 25-16 fourth set win and victory in the match against the Reddies.
Leading the offensive attack for the Golden Suns was Siedenburg with 19 kills. Following behind her was Merkel and Neal with 13 kills each. Thomas picked up a solid 12 kills while hitting a .423 percentage. Pacing the Golden Suns on offense was Palmer with a season-high 45 assists in the match against the Reddies. In terms of aces,
Jamie Myrick led the team with three on the night.
Anchoring the Golden Sun defense was Myrick with 23 total digs. Solberg also contributed with 20 digs. Holding down the front of the net was the pair of Thomas and Orton who each collected two total blocks in the match.
Head volleyball coach
Kera Coleman was excited to see the grit and fight her team displayed in the match.
"This team showed heart tonight. They also showed a ton of grit. Honestly, there are too many players, who helped lead this team to win the match tonight to name all of them. It was truly a team win! we really appreciate all of the fans showing up and supporting us, we definitely felt their energy! Fight on!"
The Golden Suns will pack their bags and head to Magnolia, Ark. for their next outing against Southern Arkansas. The match against the Muleriders is set for a 6 p.m. first serve on Thursday.
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