VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS BOTH OF ITS MATCHES IN TRI-MATCH
AT PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE

         LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Volleyball swept both Philander Smith and LeMoyne-Owen in non-conference action here Saturday in a tri-match held at Philander Smith College.

Tech, who improved to 21-11 overall with the two wins, opened the tri-match by picking up a three-set win over Philander Smith (25-9, 25-9, 25-14) and then collected a three-set South Region win over LeMoyne-Owen (25-15, 25-10, 25-6).

In the first match against Philander Smith, Tech led the entire match never having its lead really challenged. Tech’s defense stood out as they held PSC to a -.098 hitting percentage and forced a total of 15 attack errors and Tech also mustered up 6.5 blocks, as well in the win. While its defense was strong, so too, was its offense as Tech finished the match hitting .438, including hitting .778 with just one error in the second set. Freshman outside hitter Kelsey Cheatham (Denton, Texas) led the way for Tech with 11 kills and a .558 hitting percentage, while sophomore outside hitter Kelly O’Malley (Billings, Mont.) and freshman outside hitter Carly Florian (Wilmington, Ill.) each had nine kills in the win.

Meanwhile, in the second match against LeMoyne-Owen, Tech fell behind in just the second set, but rebounded to improve to 16-6 overall this season in three set matches. Tech’s defense once again helped make this an easy match by holding the Lady Magicians to an .042 hitting percentage and only allowing LOC to get eight kills on 48 attempts. Along with its defense, the Golden Suns offense finished the match hitting .408 as they had 40 kills and just 11 errors on 71 attack attempts. Florian and sophomore outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.) each had 10 kills in the win, while freshman middle blocker Brittany Ryan (Mena, Ark.) added nine kills and hit .727.

The Golden Suns will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 27, when they conclude non-conference action with a 7 p.m. match in Muskogee, Okla., against Bacone College. Tech picked up a three-set win over the Warriors in Russellville on Oct. 7. Following the Bacone match, Tech will return home to close out its 2009 home schedule by hosting Christian Brothers for “Trick or Treat” Thursday at Tucker Coliseum. First serve for the CBU match is set for 7 p.m.

         -- Tech Athletics --