ADA, Okla. — Arkansas Tech’s Golden Suns volleyball team showed some fight Friday night, but a tough start and a strong East Central offense proved too much to overcome.
The Golden Suns fell 3-1 to the Tigers on October 16 in Ada, Oklahoma, dropping the first two sets before battling back to take the third and keep the match alive.
East Central came out swinging, jumping to an 8-1 lead in the opening set and stretching that advantage to 16-5. Arkansas Tech eventually found some rhythm and cut the deficit to 20-13, but the Tigers held on for a 25-16 win.
The second set followed a similar script.
East Central raced ahead 10-4 and eventually built a 21-9 lead. The Golden Suns put together a late push, scoring five of the next six points to close the gap to 22-14, but the Tigers took the set 25-17.
Down two sets, Tech wasn’t ready to call it a night.
The Golden Suns flipped the script in the third, scoring the first five points and keeping East Central on its heels for much of the set.
The Tigers eventually pulled even at 19-19, but Tech answered with four straight points to move ahead 23-19.
East Central made one more push, scoring three consecutive points to make it 23-22. But the Golden Suns held their ground, taking the set 25-23 and forcing a fourth.
Unfortunately for Tech, the Tigers found their offensive groove again in the fourth set.
East Central put together its most efficient offensive performance of the night, recording 17 kills against just three errors for an impressive .389 attack percentage. The Tigers went on to close out the match and secure the 3-1 victory.
For the match, Arkansas Tech was held to a .094 hitting percentage, with East Central’s defense contributing 10 blocks. The Tigers, meanwhile, hit .235 and finished with 13 more kills than the Golden Suns.
Despite the loss, Tech’s third-set comeback provided a bright spot in an otherwise difficult night on the road.
The Golden Suns will look to bounce back Friday, October 23, when they travel to Arkadelphia to face Henderson State.
First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Duke Wells Center.
