VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN FOUR SETS AT ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO

         MONTICELLO, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Volleyball saw its chances for a second place finish in the Gulf South Conference West Division standings dashed here Tuesday evening as the Golden Suns fell in four sets at Arkansas-Monticello (25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 25-21) at Steelman Fieldhouse on the UAM campus.

With the loss and UAM’s win, Tech (23-12, 7-4 GSC) can finish no better than third place in the West Division after its match Thursday at Henderson State, while UAM improved to 16-17 overall and 8-3 in the GSC with the win and can seal the second seed in next weekend’s GSC Tournament in Searcy, Ark., with a win Saturday over Christian Brothers. Harding won the West Division titles thanks to its four-set home win Tuesday over Henderson State.

In Tuesday’s match against UAM, Tech could get any consistent offense going as they struggled the entire match as they finished hitting .143 for the four sets and had 27 attack errors in dropping both of its matches this season to the Cotton Blossoms.

Tech stayed with UAM early in the first set and they forced a tie at 10-10, but the Cotton Blossoms scored five straight points to take control of the set. The Golden Suns tried to get back into the set by cutting the lead within one after a kill by junior right side hitter Ashlynn Hamrick (Jackson, Mich.), but UAM would rebound and go on to finish off the Golden Suns, 25-20.

In the second set, Tech was able to control things early by taking a lead following a kill by sophomore outside hitter Laura Farney (Morton, Ill.). Tech would lead from that point forward as they picked up a 25-18 lead to tie the match. In the second set, Tech hit .406 and had 16 kills, while they held UAM to an .054 hitting percentage.

          UAM, though, struggled over the final two sets as they hit .100 in dropping the third set, 25-17 and then hit .073 with 11 kills and eight attack errors in falling 25-21 in the fourth and final set. Over the final two sets, UAM recorded 29 kills and had only nine attack errors in 75 attack attempts.

          Farney led the way for Tech as she posted her 13th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs. The 16 kills was her 23rd double-digit kill match of the season. In addition to Farney, junior middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.) had 12 kills and three solo blocks, while sophomore libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.) added 20 digs on the night. With her 20 digs, Benda moved into fourth place on the school’s single-season list for double-digit digs with 24, tied for fourth on the school’s career double-figure dig chart with 42 and moved into 10th place on the school’s career dig list with 865.

          UAM was paced by Sara Kindred, who had 14 kills and hit .293, while Amanda Dills had 11 kills in the win.

          Tech will conclude the regular season on Thursday, Nov. 5, when they travel to Arkadelphia, Ark., to face Henderson State (14-15 overall, 7-4 GSCW) in a 7 p.m. match in the Duke Wells Center. Tech picked up a three-set sweep over the Lady Reddies in Russellville on Oct. 13.

          Arkansas-Monticello Box Score

         -- Tech Athletics --