TECH VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN FIVE SETS FRIDAY TO NORTH ALABAMA

        SEARCY, Arkansas – The Arkansas Tech volleyball team fell just short in a grueling five-set match to Gulf South Conference East Division foe North Alabama on Friday night here at the Rhodes Fieldhouse on the Harding University campus.

The loss was only the second of the year for the Golden Suns (14-2) and it snapped a six-match win streak for Kristy Bayer’s crew.

Arkansas Tech got off to a good start in the match taking the first set, 25-23. North Alabama came back to take the second set, 25-13, and Tech rebounded to take set three, 25-18. However, North Alabama would not be denied, taking the final two sets, 25-20 and 15-7, respectively.

Leading the way for Tech against the Lions was sophomore middle blocker Sarah Von Lienen (Lakeland, Tenn.), who had 12 kills and hit .409 and senior outside hitter Racheal Urquhart (Chattam, Ontario) added 10 kills in the loss.

          Senior setter Kayla Allison (Tulsa, Okla.) had 43 assists in the match to pace the squad. Defensively, sophomore setter Kera Dukic led the way with 10 digs, while freshman libero Brennae Benda (Woodstock, Ill.) had add nine digs and Urquhart added eight digs. Senior middle blocker Dana Florian (Wilmington, Illinois) would add two solo blocks to go with seven kills and also had three block assists.

          North Alabama had a hitting percentage of .287 in the match, while Tech hit .222. The Lions swatted ten service aces in the match.

          Whitney Sanders had a match-high 19 kills for UNA and Kelly Pratt added 17. Setter Alison Jacobs has 51 assists and Jessica Hansen notched 18 digs.

          The Golden Suns will return home for a GSC match with Harding on Tuesday, Sept. 30. It will be “Pack the Stands” night at Tucker Coliseum, where Tech is 8-0 this season, as the Golden Suns look to set a new Tech and also a new GSC single-match attendance record.

         North Alabama Box Score  

         -- Tech Athletics --