RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech volleyball team fell to Harding 0-3 in Tucker Coliseum on Thursday evening. The Golden Suns finish the 2022 regular season with an 8-21 overall record and a 6-10 record in Great American Conference play.
Arkansas Tech managed to open the first set of play on top with a 2-1 lead following a kill from
Brianna Merkel and a service ace from Jamie Myrick. A 6-2 run by the Bisons managed to put them in the lead at 7-4. A pair of errors by Harding and a kill from Kaitlyn Neal brought the Golden Suns back to within one point down just 7-8. The Golden Suns continued to stay in the match and bite at the heels of the Bisons as they held on to just a 12-10 lead. However, Harding put together a 5-0 run to create space from the Golden Suns to make it a 17-10 lead. Maddi Siedenburg helped lead Arkansas Tech on a 6-2 run with two kills to get the deficit down to three as they still trailed 16-19 down the stretch of the first set. The Bisons would close out the set from there on a 6-1 run to take the first set 25-17.
Harding came out of the gates strong to start the second set of the night with a 5-1 run. The Golden Suns responded with a solid 6-2 run fueled by two kills from Merkel to take the lead over the Bisons 7-6. The early parts of the second set continued to be a set of runs as Harding put together a 7-2 run to grab the lead back at 13-9. A kill from Neal and one from Sierra Orton helped Arkansas Tech stay in the fight down just 12-14. Following a kill by Harding that gave them a 17-13 advantage late in the set, the Golden Suns turned on the offensive engine as Siedenburg led the Golden Suns on a 7-1 run with three kills to put them back on top 20-18 over the Bisons down the stretch. Another kill from both Neal and Orton put the Golden Suns in the drivers seat with a 23-22 lead, but Harding struck back with a 3-0 run to escape the second set with a 25-23 win.
To start the third set, the Golden Suns opened with a 3-2 lead thanks to a kill from Merkel and two errors by the Bisons. A 6-2 run by Harding gave them the 8-5 lead. Harding continued to stay aggressive on the attack pushing their third set lead up to 15-9 over the Golden Suns. From there, the Bisons would take control of the set and end on a 10-4 run to take the third set 25-14 and win the match.
Leading the offensive attack for the Golden Suns was Merkel with 10 total kills on the night. Following her was Siedenburg with eight kills. Pacing the Golden Suns on offense was
Gracie Palmer who picked up 18 assists in the match. In terms of aces,
Megan Solberg led the team with two.
On defense, Solberg was the anchor logging 16 digs against the Bisons, while Jamie Myrick had 11 and Siedenburg had 10. Locking down the front of the net for Arkansas Tech was
Heather Thomas and Orton who each had two total blocks in the match.
The Golden Suns will have one week to prepare for their next outing in Shawnee, Okla. for the Great American Conference Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, November 10. Arkansas Tech will enter the GAC Tournament as the No. 8 overall seed and will face the No. 1 overall seed Harding in the first round of the tournament.
