Golden Suns volleyball burns competition, 3-0 for the week

This past week, the Golden Suns volleyball team squared off against three opponents and recorded the same result in each of them. Last Tuesday the team traveled to Arkadelphia to face Ouachita Baptist before returning home to play Southern Arkansas on Thursday, and then heading to Pine Bluff to square off with UAPB on Saturday. In each of the matches, Tech was able to pull off a perfect 3-0 match for the victory. On Tuesday, the Suns took down Ouachita Baptist 30-25, 30-25, 30-20. The victory snapped the Suns’ longest losing streak of the season. The win improved the team to 11-7 overall and 1-0 in GSC play. Junior Racheal Urquhart led the way with 18 kills and seven digs, fellow junior Dana Florian recorded 13 kills and five blocks, and freshman Ashlynn Hamrick put up 10 kills while hitting .500. Behind a strong group of players, the Suns looked dominant in the conference opener. Thursday the Suns hosted their first GSC match of the season in Tucker Coliseum. Southern Arkansas came to town in hopes keeping the Suns from continuing a winning streak. That goal, however, would never materialize, as Tech put the game away in straight sets 30-20, 30-25, 30-23. The victory moved Tech to 12-7 and 2-0 in GSC play as it rallied behind junior Kayla Allison as she recorded her 11th doubledouble of the season with 50 assists and 14 digs.

Friday, the Suns traveled to Pine Bluff to face their Division IAA opponent. Despite playing their third match in four days, the Suns looked fresh as they posted their third straight three-set victory, 30-25, 30-24, 30-19. The Suns looked strong again, out hitting UAPB .305 to .078. Urquhart led the way again, putting up a .471 hitting percentage and tallying 10 kills. Tech advanced to 13-7 and is riding a three-game winning streak into this week when it takes on Harding in Searcy on Tuesday and Bacone College in Tucker Coliseum on Thursday.