ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – For the second time in as many matches, the Arkansas Tech volleyball team was in search of a reverse sweep after falling behind two sets to none. After forcing a decisive fifth set at Henderson State on Tuesday night, however, the Golden Suns would fall short and ultimately lose the match.
The first two sets saw the Golden Suns run into a stout offensive attack by Henderson State that saw the Reddies notch double-digit kills in each set. Conversely, the Golden Suns' offense got out to a slow start with just 17 kills and 16 errors across the first two sets.
Tech began to right the ship in the third set and became more efficient offensively. The Golden Suns also put together a monster run at the end of the set to extend the match. Trailing 21-18, the Golden Suns rattled off seven-straight points to slingshot past the Reddies and win the set 25-21.
The momentum of the run did not initially carry over in the beginning of set four, but trailing by 10-7, the Golden Suns went on another big run to surge ahead in the set. This run saw the Golden Suns score seven-straight points as well and subsequently take a 14-10 lead. Three of those points during the run were
Savannah Meyer service aces.
The Reddies had a push left in them and turned a 19-16 deficit into a 21-20 lead. A Henderson attack error tied the score at 21-all, but the Reddies would score the next two points to go up 23-21. That would be the final point of the set by the Reddies as the Golden Suns scored four unanswered points to steal the set and force the decisive fifth set.
Unfortunately, the Reddies raced out to a 5-0 lead in the fifth set and used that cushion to cruise the set victory and stave off the reverse sweep attempt by the Golden Suns.
The Golden Suns will now prepare for another road match coming up this Thursday night at Harding. First-serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Searcy.
