GOLDEN SUNS SET FOR FRIDAY'S GSC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT OPENER AGAINST MONTEVALLO

         PENSACOLA, Florida – Arkansas Tech Volleyball saw its 2008 season come to an end here Friday as the Golden Suns fell in four sets to Montevallo (25-21, 17-25, 25-18, 25-11) in the quarterfinals of the Gulf South Conference Tournament at the UWF Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of West Florida.

Tech, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed out of the West Division after earning its first West Division title since 2000, was never able to get into a consistent rhythm as its offense committed 19 attack errors and had a season-high tying 14 service errors in finishing the season with a 31-5 overall record.

“What a disappointing way to end what was a very successful season,” Tech Head Coach Kristy Bayer said. “We came out flat and they (Montevallo) were able to take advantage of that.”

Montevallo, who was the No. 4 seed out of the East Division, opened the match by posting a 25-21 win in the first set. In the first set, UM jumped out to 12-8 lead and led 15-10, when the Golden Suns used a 5-1 scoring run to pull within 16-15 on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.). Following Von Lienen’s kill, the Lady Falcons pushed its lead back out to 20-15 thanks to four straight Tech errors. The Golden Suns, though, responded as they used a 6-3 run to pull within 23-21 following an ace by freshman libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.), before UM sealed the win with a kill Katy Hendrick and a set error by set error by senior setter Kayla Allison (Tulsa, Okla.).

In the second set, Tech jumped out to a 13-8 lead, before UM used a 6-3 run to drop Tech’s lead to 16-14. Tech, though, used a 7-2 run to push out to a 23-16 lead. Following a service error by sophomore setter Kera Dukic (White Lake, Mich.) dropped Tech’s advantage to 23-17, the Golden Suns scored the set’s final two points to seal the 25-17 win.

Much like the first set, UM jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the third set, before Tech used an 11-7 run to pull within 16-15 following a kill by sophomore right side hitter Ashlynn Hamrick (Jackson, Mich.). Hamrick’s kill would be as close as Tech would get as the Lady Falcons closed the set scoring nine of the final 12 points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

          The fourth set started out well for Tech as they scored the first two points on kills by senior outside hitter Racheal Urquhart (Chatham, Ont.) and led 5-3, before UM took the lead at 8-6 thanks to a 5-1 scoring run. After Tech pull within 10-8 on a kill by freshman outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.), the Lady Falcons used a 10-0 to push out to a 20-8 advantage. Tech was able to stop UM’s run and pulled within 20-10, before the Lady Falcons closed out the set and the match by scoring five of the final six points to advance to semifinal match-up Saturday with North Alabama, who opened the tournament with a three-set victory over Christian Brothers.

          Urquhart, who was one of Tech’s three First-Team All-GSC West selections, led the way for Tech with 13 kills and hit .355, while Florian, a Second-Team All-GSC West Division closed out her Tech career with seven kills and two blocks. Von Lienen, Hamrick and Farney added six kills and Dukic had 10 digs in the loss.

Montevallo was paced offensively by Hendrick’s match-high 15 kills, while Lauren Tortorici added nine kills and 12 digs. Kara Zawisza had 12 digs and Monika Tortorici added eight kills and hit .353.  

         Friday's match also marked the final game for Tech's four seniors - Florian, Urquhart, Allison and defensive specialist Kirsten Fifield (Wheatfield, Ind.), who is sitting out this season after playing the past three seasons. Urquhart finishes her career as Tech's all-time leader in kills (1,578), digs (1,409), double-figure kill matches (81) and double-figure dig matches (66), while Allison finishes as the school's all-time leader in assists (5,175) and was also the school's first four-time All-Conference selection in the Division II era and Florian finishes as the school's Division II era block leader (498) and also finishes fifth in career kills (1,297).

Montevallo Box Score

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