VOLLEYBALL CLOSES OUT HOME PORTION OF ITS SCHEDULE WITH THREE-SET SWEEP OVER CHRISTIAN BROTHERS, EARNS ITS THIRD CONSECUTIVE GSC TOURNAMENT BERTH

         RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Volleyball concluded the home portion of its 2009 schedule here Thursday night by posting a three-set sweep over Christian Brothers (25-23, 29-27, 25-17) in Gulf South Conference action at Tucker Coliseum on “Trick or Treat” Night.

With the win, Tech improves to 23-11 overall and a 7-3 in the GSC on the season and they also earn its third consecutive berth in the GSC Tournament, which will begin on Nov. 13 at the site of the West Division champion. In fact, the four seeds in the GSC Tournament from the West Division have been decided as Tech will joined at the tournament by Harding (9-1 GSC), Arkansas-Monticello (7-3 GSC) and Henderson State (7-3 GSC).

Along with securing its third consecutive GSC Tournament berth with the win, the Golden Suns also closed its home schedule with an 11-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in league play.

 In Tuesday’s first, Tech sprinted out to an 8-4 lead, but CBU (16-13 overall, 5-6 GSC) fought back to force an 8-8 tie following an attack error by sophomore outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.). Farney’s error helped CBU take a lead, until the Golden Suns fought back to force a tie at 10 on a service ace by Farney and then retook the lead and sealed the win on a kill by freshman middle blocker Brittany Ryan (Mena, Ark.).   

The second set was a hard-fought battle as both teams combined for 23 ties and eight lead changes. The Golden Suns held a 24-23 lead when CBU’s Michelle Hein forced the match into extra points on a kill. After Hein’s kill, both teams traded points until an attack error by Kelly Nolan gave Tech a 29-27 win and a 2-0 edge in the match.

In the third set, it was all Tech as the Golden Suns limited the Lady Bucs to an .086 hitting percentage in cruising to a 25-17 victory. While CBU hit .086, the Golden Suns hit .226 in the final set, including closing the match with a kill by sophomore libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.).

On the night, Tech was led the play of Farney as she had a match-high 18 kills and added nine digs. With her 18 kills, Farney has now posted 22 double-figure kill matches this season, which is 11th on the school’s single-season chart. In addition to Farney, junior middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.), the three-time reigning GSC West Division Offensive Player of the Week, had 13 kills, four blocks and hit .333 in the win, while junior setter Kera Dukic (White Lake, Mich.) recorded 40 assists.

Defensively, Benda led Tech with a match-high 16 digs. The 16 digs was her 22nd double-digit dig match of the season, which is tied for fourth on the school’s single-season double-digit dig match chart.

          CBU was led seven kills apiece from Hein, Hailey Gillis and Hanna Orendorff, while Nolan added 11 digs in the loss.

          Tech will close out the regular season next week with two important road GSC matches as Tech will travel to Monticello to face Arkansas-Monticello in a 7 p.m. contest on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and then conclude the regular season on Thursday, Nov. 5 at Henderson State. The final two matches will decide the seeding for this year’s GSC Tournament.

          Christian Brothers Box Score

         -- Tech Athletics --