RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech volleyball team picked up a big conference win against Northwestern Oklahoma on Thursday night inside Tucker Coliseum as they won in four sets, 3-1.
A major key to the victory for the Golden Suns was their offense. For the match, the Golden Suns nearly doubled the kill total of the Rangers as Tech ended with 59 kills while NWOSU managed just 30 across the four sets.
In all four set, the Golden Suns would register at least a dozen kills and saved their biggest output for last as they hammered home 17 kills in the fourth and final set.
The dominant overall offense performance by the Golden Suns started right away in the first set as they raced out to a 7-1 lead over the Rangers. NWOSU was not ever really able to get back into the set after that sluggish start and the Golden Suns cruised to a 25-16 win. In terms of kill totals, the Golden Suns had 14 in the first set.
The second set saw the script flip as the Rangers went on a massive 10-0 run to turn an early two-point deficit into an eight-point lead at 14-6. Later on, the Golden Suns found themselves trailing by nine, 18-9, but then went on a 7-1 run to pull within three points of the lead, 19-16. At the start of that stretch, the Golden Suns had five-straight kills with two from
Savannah Meyer, two from
Jordan Clouse and one from
Henley Hooks.
Unfortunately, that early hole was too much to overcome in the second set as NWOSU ended up winning 25-18.
The Golden Suns would not allow that set to linger into the third as they endured a back-and-forth battle throughout before creating some separation after the match was tied at 10-all. From that point, the Golden Suns would score 10 of the next 13 points in the set to race out to a 20-13 lead. That surge was enough to help the Golden Suns cruise to a 25-16 win.
The momentum gained from that run in the third set carried over in a major way in the fourth set as the Golden Suns scored the first 10 points of the set. During that massive run, the Golden Suns had four service aces with all four being registered by
Emma Kiser.
The Golden Suns would easily play out the rest of the set with a comfortable lead to put the finishing touches on an impressive victory.
Statistically, the Golden Suns were led offensively by Meyer, who had 23 kills. Next in kills was Hooks with 14. Pacing the offense was Kiser as she dished out 44 assists.
The Golden Suns will have a quick turnaround for their next match as they host Southwestern Oklahoma on Friday, October 18 starting at 4 p.m. That match is the annual Dig Pink match for the Golden Suns as they will wear special pink jerseys. Those jerseys will be sold as part of a silent auction that will take place during the match.
