VOLLEYBALL POSTS THREE-SET HOME WIN OVER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS IN FRONT OF SCHOOL AND GSC RECORD CROWD

         RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas - Arkansas Tech Volleyball once again made history here Thursday as the Golden Suns set a new single-match school and Gulf South Conference attendance mark in its three-set victory over Southern Arkansas (25-10, 25-21, 25-20) on “Pack the Stands Night” at Tucker Coliseum.

In Thursday’s match, Tech, who improved to 11-6 overall and 2-0 in the GSC with the win, drew 975 fans, which bettered the old school and GSC single-match mark of 930 set last season against Harding.

“I am very happy for the support of this event tonight,” Tech Head Volleyball Coach Kristy Bayer said. “I’m thankful to everyone who came out and to Chartwells for the hard work they put in. It really added to the electric atmosphere tonight.”

SAU, who fell to 1-20 overall and 0-2 in the GSC, played tough enough to give the Golden Suns a tough match as they scored 20 and 21 points respectively in the last two sets. For the Lady Muleriders, Kaci Matthews had eight kills and Maggie Glover with six kills help keep SAU in the match.

With exception for the first set, Tech and Southern Arkansas kept it interesting. In the second set, Tech just couldn’t get any momentum going and then in the final set, SAU came out like it didn’t want to go home early.

“We’re happy to be 2-0 in the conference,” the sixth-year Tech coach said. “It was a good win, we played well, but we could have played great.”

Leading the way for the Golden Suns was sophomore outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.), who recorded 10 kills and that gives her 12 double-digit kill performances on the season and hit .318 in the win. Junior middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.), who is the reigning GSC West Division Offensive Player of the Week, had six kills and two block assists, while junior setter Kera Dukic (White Lake, Mich.) had 29 assists, five kills and hit .714 for the match.

Defensively, junior defensive specialist Ashley Camp (Conway, Ark.) and sophomore libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.) each had eight digs and both helped keep the Golden Suns close in the tighter points in the match.

Tech will return to action next Tuesday, Sept. 29, when they travel to Searcy, Ark., to face Harding in a 7 p.m. match at Rhodes Fieldhouse. Tech swept both matches last season against the Lady Bison enroute to winning the GSC West Division title.

“We are looking forward to play at Harding next Tuesday and it should be another electric atmosphere in a hostile environment,” Bayer added.

          Southern Arkansas Box Score

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