RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Henderson State played both its first road match and longest lasting match of the season tonight in Russellville, Arkansas, where Arkansas Tech got the best of the Reddies after five sets for a 3-2 conference win (25-18, 17-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-9).
 
Freshman Christiane Uzoh saw her best game as a Reddie with eight kills and only two errors on 19 total attacks for a team-high hitting percentage of .316. Mya Robinson and Violeta Mendoza Quintana both posted season-high kills with 15 and 12, respectively, while Taylor Scalzi had 21 assists, followed by Abby Blackburn with 20.  
 
Makenzie Thoman, who was 37 digs away from 1000 digs in her career, ended her night with 28, nine (9) shy of joining the 1K club.
 
SET ONE
Blackburn got it going early as she was responsible for three assists on the Reddies' first four points of the match. Arkansas Tech met HSU's four points and proceeded to go on a 5-0 run, however, to make the score 9-4 before Henderson State head coach Phil McDaniel called his first timeout of the game.
 
A 3-0 run down the stretch allowed HSU to cut within five points, but a solid hitting percentage of  .146 from Arkansas Tech kept the Reddies at bay the rest of the first set as ATU took the early one-set advantage, 25-18. Two Golden Suns in Haylee Paladini and Addison Masters were responsible for five kills each.
 
SET TWO
Both teams traded points until the tally was evened up at seven. From there Arkansas Tech went on a 3-0 run due to three straight errors from HSU. The Reddies responded to those hiccups with a 11-2 run, including three kills from Robinson, two from Uzoh and back-to-back aces from Thoman, to give them the 18-12 edge before the Golden Suns called their second timeout of the set.
 
Henderson went on to put together one of its best sets as it boasted a .306 hitting percentage, leading them to even the overall set total at one a piece with a 25-17 second-set victory. Brittany Barnekoff showed up big with four kills for a hitting percentage of .231 on 13 total attacks through two sets while also contributing a block assist.
 
SET THREE
The Reddies kept up the strong play into the third set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead off of back-to-back kills from Robinson and one of Thoman's three total service aces. Once HSU was up 17-11 and looking like it was about to run away with the set, Arkansas Tech responded with a 4-0 run before coach McDaniel slowed the Golden Suns' role with a timeout.
 
At 17-15 HSU, the Golden Suns role could not be slowed as another 10-3 ATU run closed out the third set, 25-20. With Arkansas Tech up two (2) sets to one (1), HSU needed to take set four and five to take the match.
 
SET FOUR
After ATU rattled off a quick three points, Henderson State refused to lie down, coming back with an 8-1 run, holding an 8-4 lead. Another 3-0 run later in the set saw the Reddies hold a 12-7 lead, forcing Arkansas Tech into a timeout.
 
With set four winding down, Arkansas Tech attempted one last shot at ending the match with a 7-1 run to cut HSU's lead to three points, 21-18, before Henderson State was able to kill the Golden Suns' momentum on the back of two Robinson kills. With the help of Violeta Mendoza Quintana's six kills in the set – four of them in succession for the Reddies – HSU was able to force a match-defining fifth set after a 25-19 fourth set win.  
 
SET FIVE
With 15 points needed to win the set and overall match, Arkansas Tech scored the first four points to open the final set for the Golden Suns, warranting a timeout from coach McDaniel. Henderson State was able to put together six post-timeout points but not without ATU putting down five more points to take a 9-6 lead.
 
With the margin staying between three and four, ATU scored the final two points of the set, culminating in a block assist by Arkansas Tech's Mackenzie Eford and Haylee Paladini, giving the Golden Suns the five-set triumph, 3-2.