Alva Review-Courier -

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - With a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21) win over Ouachita on Thursday to move to 16-0, the No. 24 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns have tied their best start to a season in program history.

UP NEXT

Arkansas Tech (16-0, 3-0 GAC) will return to Arkadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 26, for a Great American Conference match against Henderson State. The contest is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first set featured four lead changes until a 7-1 run put the Golden Suns ahead, 14-8. Ouachita (9-5, 2-1 GAC) used a 10-3 run later in the game to tie the score, 20-20, but Tech eventually took the final two points on a kill by Lexie Johnston and block by Amanda Milnick and Greer Rogers.

Ouachita led for much of the second set, and the Tigers looked to even the match with a 23-20 lead late in the game. Arkansas Tech was able to score the next five consecutive points, however, winning the set on an ace by Hunter Eshnaur.

The Tigers took the first lead of the final set, but the Golden Suns quickly took it away with three straight points. Tech held its lead for the rest of the set, ending the match on Marisa Drevenak's second kill of the season.

The Golden Suns finished the match hitting .227 as a team. Ouachita was held to a .150 attack percentage. Tech recorded nine blocks while allowing Ouachita to just one.

Six different Golden Suns finished with at least five kills, including Allie Anderson's team-high 10. Johnston posted seven kills and zero errors, leading all players with a .467 hitting percentage.

Milnick tallied 30 assists and nine digs, and Madison Nagel led Tech with 10 digs. Rogers had her hands on a match-high six blocks.

NOTABLES

Arkansas Tech ties 2008's school record for consecutive wins to start a season. The Golden Suns also have more wins than any other team in Division II this season.

The straight-set victory gives Tech 12 wins in three sets this season. The Golden Suns have not lost the third set in any of their 16 matches.

HEAD COACH KRISTY BAYER SAYS

"It was a huge win for us. It was not a pretty win, but the good thing is that we came down to a pretty hostile, visiting environment, and we were able to win. In the end, it does not matter how pretty it looked. You just have to get the win."

"In the second set, we kind of dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole. We were playing catch-up the entire set. I ended up putting Rilie Vote in a position that she does not even play, and she gave our team a little bit of life. That was huge for our momentum and huge for our confidence going into set three."