In one of its biggest wins of the last few years, the Henderson State volleyball team defeated Arkansas Tech on their home floor 3-1 (25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21) on Tuesday night in Russellville, Arkansas. The win marks the Reddies' first victory over the Golden Suns since 2007, when they were members of the Gulf South Conference.

The Reddies were led by sophomore Sharon Tukuaoga and freshman Courtney Bolf, who both had 16 kills. Freshman setter Haley Higgins also played a huge role for Henderson, posting a career-high 39 assists in the victory.

Henderson got off to a strong start in the first set. Leading 9-8, the Reddies ripped off a 7-0 run to open up a 16-8 lead. The Golden Suns went on a 7-3 run of their own to cut the lead to 19-15, but that would be as close as they would get, as a Higgins kill for the final point gave Henderson a 25-19 win.

The Reddies would again start hot in the second game, taking an 11-3 lead out of the gates. Tech, however, would respond, and quickly. Trailing by eight points, the Golden Suns went to work on a 9-1 run to knot things up at 12-12 and erase the brilliant start by Henderson. Things stayed tight for the next few points, until at 18-18 the Reddies went on a 4-1 run and looked to seize control of the game and the match, holding a 23-19 lead. Looking to avoid a 0-2 hole on their home court, the Golden Suns battled to win five of the next six points and once again tie the game at 24-24. After the two teams traded points, Henderson finally broke through on an attack error from Tech and a kill from senior Jessie Jacoby, to win the second game 27-25 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Trying to avoid a 3-0 defeat on their home court, the Golden Suns came out on the attack in game three, opening up a 18-10 lead on the Reddies. Henderson would do its best to respond, going on an 11-5 run to cut the Tech lead to 23-21 and give themselves a chance, but Tech won the next two points and took game three 25-21 to cut the Reddies' lead to 2-1.

Early in the fourth game, it looked as though Tech would run away with it and tie the match, as they rode the momentum from their win in the third set to an 8-1 start. Henderson, however, would not be denied. After a timeout from Kristee Porter, the Reddies went on a furious 15-2 run to rapidly take a commanding 16-10 lead over the host Golden Suns. Tech would desperately try to fight their way back into the game, but would never come within four points again, as the Reddies finished off their first win over Tech in 19 tries with a 25-21 victory to take the match 3-1.

Defense played a big role for the Reddies in the match, as five different players registered 10 or more digs. Junior libero Sydney Skelton led the team with 24. Also proving huge for Henderson was the defense at the net by freshman Adrianna Hartmann, who had nine blocks and Tukuaoga who had eight. The Reddies forced Tech into 30 errors and held them to an attack percentage of .117.

Henderson's next game is the Battle of the Ravine on Thursday at 6 p.m. against Ouachita Baptist in the Duke Wells Center.