RUSSELLVILLE,
Ark. – It seemed everything went right for Arkansas Tech on Friday night as the Golden Suns knocked off No. 19 Oklahoma Baptist 3-0 in Great American Conference action.
ATU stayed in first place of the GAC and improved to 12-3 overall and 6-0 in the league. The Bison saw its five-match winning streak snapped and fell to 10-3 and 4-2 in conference play. OBU's 3-0 loss, remarkably, was the first time in 37 regular-season matches that it failed to record a set win. The last time that happened was Oct. 13, 2018 at Harding.
Arkansas Tech's service game was crucial midway through the first. Trailing 11-8 after a kill by
Malia Leatherland, Emily Ragsdale notched a kill and that was followed up by a Megan Solberg ace. Those two points were part of a 9-1 stretch that helped the Golden Suns go up 17-12. By the conclusion of the stanza, the hosts won 25-16, had three aces and hit .310 as a team.
The hot start continued into the second for ATU.
A Tymber Riley kill boosted the Golden Suns' lead to 10-3. Despite being down seven, the Bison found some defensive traction after that. A few blocks from
Avery Hellmuth,
Kaylee Buell and
D'Erricka Frierson helped OBU pull to within four points a couple times. The Bison got to 16-12, however, the hosts would not relinquish their lead and prevailed 25-19.
In the third, competition was much closer until the Golden Suns had a mini spurt. An ace by Hellmuth and kill by
Rylen Moore brought the tally to 9-7, ATU.
Following those two Bison points, Arkansas Tech scored five of the next six with Haylee Paladini providing two kills. At that point, it was 14-8 ATU. Over the remainder of the set, the Golden Suns would bolster their lead to as many as seven on a handful of occasions before winning 25-20.
By match's end, ATU held Oklahoma Baptist to its lowest attack percentage of the season (.134).
The Bison will look to quickly shake this off for a Saturday morning match tomorrow at Harding. Opening serve is set for 11 a.m.
