TOPEKA, Kan. – Golden Suns split their final day of matches at the Washburn Invitational and dropped their first match against Oklahoma Christian 3-1, but won their last match against William Jewell 3-1, as well.
OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN
The Golden Suns battled the Oklahoma Christian Eagles in a four-set game but were unable to prevail.
The Eagles were the first to score in set one, where the Suns scored their first point through a kill by Henley Hooks. Up until mid-set, the score remained within a four-point range before the Suns halted the Eagles' lead at 15-10 and went on a five-point run to tie it 15-15. Two of the five points gained by kills from Erika Hernandez. Oklahoma Christian came back and took the lead making it 18-15. Tech answered back by a three-point run to tie the game again at 18-18. Though with more back-and-forth scoring, the Eagles were able to pull ahead and won the set 25-21.
Set two saw the Suns swoop in to get an early lead. Oklahoma Christian scored the first point to have Tech, right after, go on a four-point run and lead 4-1. The score consistently remained a two point difference until the Suns went on another streak and took the lead 14-9. The Golden Suns' defense was able to wear off the Eagles' force and allow them to maintain the lead for the rest of the set. Tech earned set two 25-23.
Oklahoma Christian brought the energy for set three and quickly started at a 4-0 lead. Juliana Borchers came in with a kill to help the Suns' earn their first point. From there on, the Eagles' led the match up to a six-point difference. They also carried the momentum into set four, but Tech came in strong with a 3-0 start. The Eagles surged again and led 4-3, and ultimately carried another six-point gap through set four and captured a 25-19 win.
Golden Suns' Erika Hernandez led the team in kills totaling 12, followed by Savannah Meyer with 10 and Sammie Smith at 7. Leading in assists is Kenzie Garret at 21, and tied while also earning a double-double is Briazia Osborne with 21 assists and 13 digs. Libero Karis Brinlee with 15 total digs.
WILLIAM JEWELL
Arkansas Tech came out in a strong hold and won the first two sets of their match 25-14. Set one had the teams in a three-point score gap where the Suns were in the lead at 9-6. Tech was able to increase the gap to a 10-point difference at 20-10. The scores went on a back-and-forth gain but led to the Suns taking the set.
Set two saw the same outcome but the Suns caught a quick lead against the Cardinals. The Suns obtained a 2-0 head start and the Cardinals gained one point from a service error. Tech came back to lead at 4-1, Cardinals earned another point from a service error but kills by Juliana Borchers, Erika Hernandez and Sammie Smith with assists from Kenzie Garrett pushed the Suns to a 7-2 lead.
The Suns escalated the set with another 10-point gap and won the set with a final kill by BryAnna Young. These first two sets contained a total 35 kills and 6 errors: 18 kills and four errors in the first, and 17 kills and two errors in the second.
Cardinals picked up on the energy and managed to hinder the Suns' offense in set three. Their force made the Suns post a negative hitting percentage. Whereas the Suns did start off strong to take the lead up to 11-7, the Cardinals jumped back on a four-point run to tie the set 11-11. William Jewell took the lead at 15-12, and ran through the set to take it 25-15.
William Jewell had the drive and picked up a 3-0 lead and the Suns seized the score on a six-point run. Tech grabbed the lead 7-4 and the score gap stayed in a three-point range. By 10-9 with the Suns ahead, Tech continued a six-point run and created a seven-point gap at 16-9. The Cardinals and Suns offensively had an equal hitting percentage at .19, and the teams had a close set. A concluding kill by Erika Hernandez allowed the Suns to win set four 25-21.
Erika Hernandez led the Golden Suns again in kills with 13 and Sammie Smith at 9. Two Golden Suns landed a double-double with Savannah Meyer earning 10 kills and 10 digs, while Kenzie Garrett earned 25 assists and 16 digs. Following leaders are Briazia Osborne with 18 assists, and Karis Brinlee at 18 digs.
UP NEXT
Golden Suns hit the road next week on Sept. 3-4 for the Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kan. On Sept. 3, the Suns will face Missouri Southern at 9 a.m. and reface William Jewell at 2 p.m. The following day, they will face Truman State at 9 a.m. and Pittsburg State at 2 p.m.
