GOLDEN SUNS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON WITH THREE-SET HOME WIN OVER HENDERSON STATE ON SENIOR NIGHT

         RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns Volleyball team closed out the regular season here Thursday by posting a three-set Gulf South Conference win over Henderson State (25-16, 25-18, 34-32) to wrap-up an undefeated home season on Senior Night at Tucker Coliseum.

Prior to Thursday’s match, Tech honored its four seniors in a pregame ceremony. The seniors are setter Kayla Allison (Tulsa, Okla.), middle blocker Dana Florian (Wilmington, Ill.), defensive specialist Kirsten Fifield (Wheatfield, Ind.) and outside hitter Racheal Urquhart (Chatham, Ont.) In addition, the Golden Suns honored its student assistant coach, senior Kayla Nabholz (Conway, Ark.).

“The seniors played well and tonight’s match was representative of how they’ve played all season and throughout their careers at Tech,” Tech Head Volleyball Coach Kristy Bayer said.

Tech, who improved to 31-4 overall and 11-1 in the GSC, extended its home unbeaten streak to 20 overall matches and finished a perfect 19-0 at home this season.

“It was nice to get this 3-0 win on senior night,” Bayer said. “It was an exciting end to a good home season. I’d like to thank the fans for their support this season as they were very energetic tonight and have provided a good game atmosphere all season long.”

Florian paced the Golden Suns attack with 16 kills and a .448 hitting percentage, while sophomore right side hitter Ashlynn Hamrick (Jackson, Mich.) added 14 kills and hit .560 in the victory.

In addition to Florian and Hamrick, Allison, the school’s all-time assists leader, had 43 assists in her final home match. Urquhart added seven kills and 10 digs in the match and is the school’s all-time leader in both categories.

For the match, Tech hit .279 and held the Lady Reddies to a .155 hitting percentage. In addition, Tech held a 55-33 advantage in kills and a 55-48 edge in digs.

HSU, who closed its season with a 6-23 overall record and a 3-9 mark in the GSC, was led by Quen Banks and Tania Liufau, who each had 12 kills, while Bethany Wright collected 19 digs and Dalia Serra had 24 assists in the loss.

The Golden Suns will return to action on Friday, Nov. 14, when they open up play in the 2008 GSC Tournament against Montevallo, the No. 4 seed from the East Division. The match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the site of the East Division champion.

          Henderson State Box Score

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