HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – After a two-year absence, Arkansas Tech earned a spot in the Great American Conference Volleyball Championships final following a four-set victory against Southern in Friday’s second semifinal match from the Bank of Ozarks Arena. The Golden Suns improved to 34-0.
| GAC Volleyball Championships: Semifinal #2 |
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| #5 Southern Nazarene (15-18) |
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25 |
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| #1 Arkansas Tech (34-0) |
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25 |
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OFFENSIVE LEADERS:
SNU - Makenna Hunter: 13 kills, .462 attack percentage
Bailee Turang: 14 kills, .222 attack percentage, 16.5 points
Kylie Smith: 43 assists
ATU - Tabitha Spray: 17 kills, .444 attack percentage, 19.5 points
Hunter Eshnaur: 14 kills, .364 attack percentage
Amanda Milnick: 49 assists
SNU - Elyse Berlin: 22 digs
Kylie Smith: 11 digs
Kayla Thomas: Three blocks
ATU - Madison Nagel: 22 digs
Meredith Darnell: 16 digs
Lexie Johnson: Four blocks
FIRST SET HIGHLIGHTS:
Arkansas Tech’s top ranked offense shined in the opening set as the Golden Sun hit .389 in the 25-18 win. The Golden Suns did not trail in the set. Eshnaur, Spray and Johnston all hit at least .600 in the set. Milnick assisted on 15 of the 18 kills. Turang led the Crimson Storm offense with three kills.
SECOND SET HIGHLIGHTS:
The Crimson Storm leveled the match thanks in part to limiting the Golden Suns to a .163 attack percentage and forcing seven errors. Turang paced the squad with 7.0 points – five kills, an ace and two block assists. SNU turned the set around when it scored 11 of 14 points after trailing 9-6.
THIRD SET HIGHLIGHTS:
Led by Johnston and Allie Anderson, Tech never trailed in the third set, a set it won 25-17. The duo combined for nine kills and a .900 attack percentage. As a team, the Golden Suns hit .481 for the set.
FOURTH SET HIGHLIGHTS:
The Golden Suns closed out the match with a second-straight 25-17 set win. After falling behind 13-8, they scored nine of the next 10 points to seize control of the seat. Spray finished off her best performance of the season with four more kills. Tech forced Southern Nazarene into its worst attack percentage of the match, .119. Nagel tallied eight digs, her highest single-set total of the match. Hunter hit. .889 with eight kills and no errors. The rest of the Crimson Storm produced a negative attack percentage.
NOTABLE:
- Arkansas Tech improved to 5-1 in GAC Championship semifinal matches
- Tech advances to its fifth GAC Championship title game, the most title-game appearances in GAC history
WHAT’S NEXT:
Arkansas Tech will face Harding at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The two schools have won four of the six GAC Championships and have met in the title game three times – 2011, 2012 and 2013. Arkansas Tech won in 2011 and 2013.