RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Henderson State ventured into Tucker Coliseum without defending GAC Newcomer of the Year Violeta Mendoza Quintana, falling to the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns, 25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 25-17.
 
Mya Robinson kept the Reddies afloat for much of the match, accounting for a 17-kill, 19-dig double-double. The junior outside hitter now has claimed a double-double in four straight matches.
 
Freshman Andrea Roland served as a starter in Mendoza Quintana's absence, delivering eight kills and nine digs. Christiane Uzoh kept up her team-leading attack percentage, hitting .241 with eight kills to only one error.
 
SET ONE
Henderson scored the first two points of the match, looking to take the early momentum. Arkansas Tech battled back to even it up, alternating points until the match stood at a draw, 11-11. From there, ATU proceeded to go on an 8-2 run, leading to a 25-17 first-set win.
 
SET TWO
This time around, the Reddies scored three of the first four points of the frame before Tech went on another run, rattling off five straight to grab a 6-3 head start. Henderson never regained the lead after that, getting it as close as 17-16 off a 3-0 HSU run, as the Golden Suns took the second frame, 25-19.
 
SET THREE
With the Reddies' backs against the wall, HSU held a lead for most of the third set, even seeing a lead at 20-18 before Tech threatened to end things with a 3-0 run to take a 21-20 advantage, forcing head coach Phil McDaniel to call a timeout.
 
Henderson scored the next two points, followed by back-to-back scores from ATU to retake a 23-22 lead. After both teams had their own service errors, HSU warded off match point and closed the set on a 3-0 run to pull out the 26-24 third-set victory.
 
SET FOUR
For the first time this match, Arkansas Tech scored the first points of the set, foreshadowing things to come as the Reddies never saw a lead in what would be the final frame. The Golden Suns proceeded to take the fourth set and the overall match, 25-17.
 
Henderson State (11-3, 1-1) returns to the Duke Wells Center on Thursday, Sept. 23 when Harding comes to Arkadelphia for HSU's third GAC match of the season. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.