ADA, Okla. - Following their 3-0 sweep over Southeastern on the road yesterday evening, the Arkansas Tech volleyball team continued their hard work with a tough 3-2 win over East Central on the road in a five set thriller. Following the match, the Golden Suns move to 5-13 overall and are now 3-4 against Great American Conference opponents.

The first set opened with both sides going blow-for-blow not letting the other take a massive lead early on. A 3-0 run by East Central put them up with an early 7-5 advantage. A kill from Brianna Merkel and three straight errors by the Tigers gave the Golden Suns a 12-11 lead. The mistakes continued to hurt the Tigers as four of the next six points for the Golden Suns were earned from mistakes by the Tigers. A kill from Merkel and Sierra Orton led Arkansas Tech back in front down the stretch with a 21-20 lead. Four straight errors by the Tigers led the Golden Suns to a 24-21 set point, but the Tigers would pull together for a 5-0 run to take the narrow set one win over the Golden Suns 26-24.

East Central closed the first set on a 5-0 run, but Arkansas Tech began the second set with a more impressive 6-0 run led by a pair of aces from Megan Solberg and a kill from Ava Johnson to take command. However, the Tigers quickly struck back on an 11-3 run to take an 11-9 lead over the Golden Suns. The second set continued to be a set of runs as Tech found another run, this time 9-3, led by two back-to-back kills from Orton to go up in front 18-14. Following a trio of kills from Heather Thomas, Johnson and Kaitlyn Neal, the Golden Suns reached set point in front 24-21. Once again, the Tigers showed their fight with a 4-1 run to tie the set at 25-25 forcing some extra play. The Golden Suns would win out with two kills from Neal and Orton to secure the second set win 27-25.

The third set saw the Golden Suns take another early lead at 8-5 that was capped off by a kill from Orton. The next eight points both sides went jab-for-jab, until a 3-0 run by the Tigers snapped it to tie the set at 12-12. A pair of kills from Neal and Johnson as well as a pair of errors by East Central got Tech back on top 17-15. Thomas kept the offensive attack engine going notching three kills, including two back-to-back, to extend the Golden Sun lead up to 20-17 down the stretch of the third set. Up 22-20 following a kill from Orton had Arkansas Tech in the drivers seat, but for the third straight, East Central made their way back with a 3-0 run to take a 23-22 lead late. The Golden Suns would once again stave off the Tiger comeback going on a 4-1 run capped off by a kill from Merkel and an ace from Solberg to take the third set 26-24.

To start the fourth set of action, the Tigers took control on the attack early opening on a 15-3 run to give themselves a big advantage in the set. A kill from Orton and Neal as well as a pair of kills from Johnson would put the Golden Suns still at 10-23 deficit late in the set. Ultimately, East Central would finish the job and take the fourth set 25-14 to force a fifth and final set. 

The Golden Suns got right to work in the fifth set as a trio of kills from Thomas, a kill from Abigail Weaver and an ace from Jamie Myrick helped push them to an early 7-3 advantage over the Tigers. The next seven points went back and forth with both sides refusing to let the other make any kind of run whatsoever, until Tech managed to go on a 4-2 run fueled by the offensive prowess of Thomas picking up another three kills to put them at match point ahead 14-9. The Golden Suns would finish off the the Tigers with a kill from Weaver to earn the 15-9 fifth set win and take down the Tigers on their own home court with a thrilling 3-2 victory, earning the Golden Suns an undefeated week.

Leading the offensive attack against the Tigers was Thomas with a solid 14 kills, proving to be the driving force behind the offensive end for the Golden Suns this week. Following Thomas was Neal with 12 kills, while Orton put down 10 in the match. Pacing the Golden Sun offense was Merkel who assisted on 37 plays against East Central. In terms of service aces, Solberg led the way with a team-high three on the afternoon.

On defense, the pair of Solberg and Jenna Keller were the anchors each recording 15 digs in the match. Following the leading pair was Myrick with 12 digs. Holding down the front of the net was the duo of Thomas and Orton each logging four assisted blocks and one solo for five total blocks in the match. Merkel also played well at the net with three assisted blocks against the Tigers.

Head coach of the Golden Suns, Kera Coleman, is proud of her team for overcoming adversity and coming together as a unit to pick up a pair of great road wins.

"We're so proud of this team. We came off of a really tough week as a family and were able to bounce back together as one. Heather Thomas - unbelievable. She played out of her mind both matches and we couldn't be happier for her. We're going to enjoy these two wins and then refocus for next week's two home matches. Fight on!"

The Golden Suns will have just under a week to prepare for their next match when Southwestern Oklahoma State comes to town for Dig Pink Night. The match against the Bulldogs is set for a 6 p.m. first serve next Thursday night in Tucker Coliseum.  Read Full Article