RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Playing their second home match of the week, the Arkansas Tech volleyball team had designs of starting a winning streak with a victory over Southeastern Oklahoma. That goal got off to a great start as Tech won the first two sets, but unfortunately, Southeastern bounced back and claimed the next three sets to upend Tech in five.
The opening set really set the tone for the match and Tech's early success as they turned a one-point deficit into a five-point lead, 12-7, thanks to a 6-0 scoring run. The Golden Suns later pushed the lead out to six points, 20-14, and again at 22-16. Southeastern then put together a furious rally that saw them score six of the next seven points to pull within a point, 23-22.
A service error ended the run and gave Tech set point, but consecutive points by the Savage Storm followed to tie the set at 24-all. Undeterred by the late surge by Southeastern, the Golden Suns closed out the first set with kills from
Savannah Meyer and
Henley Hooks.
Set two was back-and-forth throughout the early part, but a massive run by Tech with the score 15-13 in favor of Southeastern flipped the momentum of the set. At that point, the Golden Suns would score 10 of the next 11 points to take a commanding 23-16 lead. Southeastern would score one more point in the set before kills from
Kaitlyn Neal and
Sierra Orton closed out the set and put Tech up 2-0 in the match.
Looking to close out the match in straight sets, the Golden Suns fell behind early and weren't able to full recover. The biggest stretch in the set saw Southeastern take a two-point lead and turn it into an eight-point advantage thanks to a 6-0 run. That allowed enough of a cushion for the Savage Storm to eventually win the third set and force the match to continue.
The fourth set featured a trading of scoring runs early on, but a 7-1 run by the Savage Storm that started with them trailing 11-10 proved to be the defining stretch of the set as Southeastern went on to win the set 25-22, forcing a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Savage Storm were once more able to put together a momentum turning scoring run. With the score tied at four-all, Southeastern ripped of four-straight to take an 8-4 lead as the teams flipped sides of the court. The momentum from that run carried the Savage Storm the remainder of the set as they went on to out-score Tech 7-2.
Statistically, the Golden Suns were led offensively by
Kaitlyn Neal and
Henley Hooks. The two both registered 13 kills.
Kenzie Garrett and
Gracie Palmer split time at setter. Garrett would dish out 27 assists, the second-most in a match for her this season, while Palmer added 14. Going into the match, Palmer needed just five assists to reach the 1,000-career assist milestone.
Defensively,
Madi Hartman and
Jamie Myrick tied for the most digs with 17 each. The Golden Suns also registered 6.0 blocks as a team.
The Golden Suns will now prepare for a quick turnaround as they will take on East Central on Friday afternoon starting at 4 p.m.
That match with ECU is Tech's annual Dig Pink match and for that match, the Golden Suns will be wearing special pink jerseys and those game-worn jerseys will also be sold as part of a silent auction that will take place during the match.
As part of the silent auction, fans will have the opportunity to come down to court-level of Tucker Coliseum once the match has started and place bids on select jersey numbers. There will also be a call-in option for fans unable to attend. Simply call the following number: (479) 356-2107 to place bids remotely.
Bidding for all jerseys will start at $25 and increased bids in $5 increments will follow. Bidding will also run through the length of the match with the winning bids being notified within 48 hours.
