SHAWNEE, Okla. - In a hard fought match all the way through, the Arkansas Tech volleyball team comes up just short dropping their GAC Tournament opening round match against #24 Harding 1-3, bringing the 2022 season for the Golden Suns to a close.
The Golden Suns started the first set hot picking up an early 5-1 lead over the Bisons led by a pair of kills from Kaitlyn Neal and a service ace from Maddi Siedenburg. Harding struck right back tying the set at 5-5. A pair of errors by Harding and a pair of kills from Siedenburg and
Brianna Merkel kept Arkansas Tech in front with a 10-9 lead. From there, the Golden Suns took charge in the set with a fantastic 7-1 run that saw kills from Merkel, Siedenburg,
Gracie Palmer and
Heather Thomas that gave them a huge 17-11 advantage in the set. Kills from Neal and Sierra Orton as well as an ace from Palmer put Arkansas Tech in the drivers seat to take the first set holding a 22-15 lead. Take the set they did as Orton and Siedenburg close it out with back-to-back kills to give the Golden Suns a huge 25-17 first set win over #24 Harding.
To start the second set, Harding would be the team to open with the hot start holding a 6-2 lead over Arkansas Tech early on. An error by the Bisons and a kill from Neal quickly brought the set to within in two as Harding still held it 6-4. The Bisons quickly tried to separate themselves from the Golden Suns with a 5-1 run to extend their lead out to 11-5. However, a 6-1 run by Arkansas Tech that saw kills from Thomas and Siedenburg as well as two aces from Jamie Myrick and Orton brought the set back to within just a single point as Tech now trailed just 11-12. A kill by Merkel and two errors by Harding continued to keep the set to within just a single point for the Golden Suns. A quick 6-1 run by Harding would create the space needed to finish off the set however as Harding would take the second set of the day 25-17.
A kill by Thomas, an ace from Jenna Keller and an error by the Bisons gave the Golden Suns an early 3-2 lead to start the third set of action. However, a 5-0 run by Harding quickly made it 7-3 swing. The Golden Suns kept their head up and fought their way back to within one point down 8-9 on a 5-2 run fueled by a trio of kills from Neal, Orton and Merkel. Another kill for Orton as well as Thomas and an ace from Merkel would keep Arkansas Tech in the set, but Harding continued to apply the pressure holding a 15-12 lead. The Bisons would close out the third set on a 10-3 run and take the set 25-15.
Arkansas Tech would find themselves with an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set led by a kill from Neal as well as an ace from Orton. A pair of kills from Merkel and an error by the Bisons would keep the Golden Suns in the lead up 7-5. The lead would extend up to 10-8 following kills by Siedenburg and Orton. Following that, Harding would make their first strike of the set going on a 6-1 run to give themselves the 14-11 lead over Arkansas Tech in the middle of the set. Two errors from Harding an a kill from Neal would keep the Golden Suns in the fight, but Harding continued to lead at 16-14. Two more kills from Siedenburg and one by Merkel would keep the fighting spirit alive for the Golden Suns still hanging tough down two at 18-20 down the stretch of the fourth set. Harding would just barely be able to make it out of the set ending it on a 5-2 run to take the fourth set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Leading the offensive attack for the Golden Suns was Siedenburg with a team-high nine kills against the Bisons. Neal followed closely behind with eight kills, while the trio of Merkel, Thomas and Orton closed out the leading attackers with seven kills. Pacing the Golden Suns on offense was Palmer with 35 assists on the afternoon. In terms of service aces, Orton led the team with two.
On defense,
Megan Solberg was the anchor coming away with 19 total digs in the match, while Keller picked up 11. Locking down the front of the net for the Golden Suns was
Heather Thomas who logged three solo blocks against Harding.
