RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech volleyball team dropped their first match in conference play at home on Friday night, falling to Harding by a score of 3-0.
The Lady Bisons got out to a quick start in the first set and raced out to a 9-2 lead before the Golden Suns found their footing and scored seven of the next nine points to pull within two points, 11-9. Later, Tech got within a point at 14-13, but Harding scored four of the next five points regain control of the set.
Harding was first to 20 points in the opening set and eventually closed out the set, 25-19. The Lady Bisons had 17 kills in that set.
Set two was close early on with neither team leading by more than two through the first 12 total points. With Tech leading 7-5, Harding went on an 8-1 run to seize control and build out a five-point lead. The Golden Suns battled back in the set and got as close as two points of Harding's lead at 22-20. The Lady Bisons ripped off the final three points of the set to claim set two and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was controlled mostly by Harding. With the score 11-9 in their favor, the Lady Bisons scored four-straight points to go up 15-9. Tech got within three of the lead at 19-16 and again at 23-20, but the Lady Bisons held off any further comeback as they competed the sweep.
The Golden Suns will now prepare for their first Oklahoma road swing of the year next week as they will be at Southern Nazarene on Thursday and Oklahoma Baptist on Friday.
