RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech volleyball team dominates Southern Arkansas with a three set sweep in home opener to earn their first Great American Conference win of the season. The Golden Suns move to 2-8 on the season and currently stand 1-0 in GAC play.
Tech opened the first set strong securing the first four points that included a pair of aces from
Gracie Palmer and the first kill of the night by
Maddi Siedenburg. Following a service error by the Muleriders, the Golden Suns stayed on the attack earning nine of the next ten points with senior setter
Brianna Merkel leading the charge adding two aces and a kill in those points. A pair of kills from
Heather Thomas and Siedenburg continued to assert the dominance of the Golden Sun offense in the first set looking at a 20-7 lead late in the set.
Olivia Crowl and
Lydia Hale would close out the set with two solid kills to secure the dominant first set win for the Golden Suns 25-12.
Southern Arkansas began the second set determined not to go down without a fight as they fought back and forth with the Golden Suns from the opening serve of the set. The Golden Suns would reign in and a kill from Hale and a bad set by the Muleriders was enough to tie the game up at seven all. A kill from Siedenburg led the charge on what would become a 7-1 run, fueled by two kills from Merkel, one from
Kaitlyn Neal and two aces from
Jamie Myrick to give the Golden Suns a 14-10 lead. Three straight costly errors by the Muleriders pushed Tech's lead forward and a kill from Hale got it to a 19-13 lead down the stretch of the second set. The Golden Suns ended the second set on a 6-1 run with two kills from Siedenburg and an ace from Palmer gave them the 25-16 second set win.
Moving into the third and final set of the night, Arkansas Tech looked to pick up their first straight set sweep of the season against the Muleriders. However, Southern Arkansas had other plans as they began the set with a 4-2 lead. Tech fought back and three errors from the SAU side gave them a 6-5 lead. An ace and kill from Merkel, as well as a kill from
Zoe Lott extended the Tech lead to 11-7. The Golden Suns continued to stay aggressive on offense as a kill from Hale and a pair of kills from Siedenburg helped Tech get to an 18-10 lead down the stretch. The Muleriders weren't done yet as they mounted a 5-1 run to close the gap down just 15-19 against the Golden Suns. Arkansas Tech managed to push through and get to match point up 24-16 following an error by Southern Arkansas. Once again, the Muleriders showed their fight attempting to make a comeback with five straight points making it a 24-21 lead for Tech. The Golden Suns would pull off the sweep following an error by Southern Arkansas and win the final set 25-21 and take the 3-0 straight set sweep to earn their first GAC win of the year.
Leading the offensive attack for the Golden Suns was Siedenburg putting down nine kills on a .304 percentage. Following her was Hale with six total kills on a .308 percentage. Pacing the Golden Suns on offense was Merkel totaling 21 assists on the night and also led the team in service aces with four. Anchoring the team on defense was
Megan Solberg with 15 digs, followed by Palmer with 11 and Merkel with 10. Holding down the front of the net for the Golden Suns against Southern Arkansas was the trio of Merkel, Hale and
Olivia Crowl each collecting two assisted blocks on the night.
The Golden Suns will stay at home as they return to Tucker Coliseum for their next matchup on Friday as they get a rematch against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The match is set for a 7 p.m. first serve on Friday night.
