VOLLEYBALL SNAPS FOUR-MATCH WINNING STREAK, FALLS IN
FOUR SETS AT HARDING IN FRONT OF GSC RECORD CROWD

         SEARCY, Arkansas - Arkansas Tech Volleyball saw its four-match winning streak come to an end here Tuesday night as the Golden Suns fell in four sets to Harding (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22) in front of a Gulf South Conference record crowd at Rhodes Fieldhouse.

Four days after Tech set a new school and GSC single-match attendance with 975 fans inside Tucker Coliseum for the Southern Arkansas match, the Lady Bison bettered Tech’s record crowd as 1,142 fans watched Tuesday’s match.

With the loss, Tech falls to 11-7 overall on the season and 2-1 in the GSC West Division, while Harding improved to 15-2 overall and 2-0 in the GSC with win and has now won 12 straight matches.

In Tuesday’s first set, the Golden Suns came out and played relaxed and prepared, but they couldn’t keep the momentum from the beginning and carry it to the end of the set in falling 25-19. For the set, Tech outhit Harding, .125 to .056.

Tech, though, rebounded in the second set as they led from the outset and made the Lady Bison earn every point in its 25-22 win.

The third set was very similar to the second one with the Lady Bison taking the role of making Tech earn the victory and Harding posted a 25-22 win to push out to a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set Harding scored the final two points after Tech used a kill by sophomore outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.) to pull within 23-22 to earn the win. The fourth set featured five ties and three lead changes.

Farney led the way for the Golden Suns as she had 13 kills, while sophomore libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.) finished the match with 15 digs and junior middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.), who is this week’s GSC West Division Defensive Player of the Week, finished with eight kills and two blocks in the loss.

Manuela Nesheva, the reigning GSC West Division Player of the Year, finished with 17 kills, while Sarah Phipps added 12 kills in the win. HU’s defense, which outdug Tech, 66-61, was led by Emily Tate’s 27 digs.

Tech will return to action this coming weekend at the 2nd-Annual Arkansas Tech Invitational at Tucker Coliseum. The Golden Suns will face Central Baptist at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, and then play East Central [OK] at 7 p.m., before concluding the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. against Central Oklahoma.

Harding Box Score 

         -- Tech Athletics --