ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Henderson State volleyball team defends off a late surge by Arkansas Tech, as the Reddies bested the Golden Suns in five sets, 3-2 at the Duke Wells Center.
 
A trio of Reddies saw a double-double, with Violeta Mendoza Quintana pacing the team with 16 kills and 16 digs. Madison Hatt matched her season-high in assists with 31 and added 12 digs to her totals, while Nathalie Van logged 25 assists and 10 digs.
 
Joining Mendoza Quintana in double-figure kills, Christiane Uzoh racked up 17 on a .344 attack average, followed by Jagoda Szybinska and Brae Denton, who had 14 and 12, respectively. HSU (17-9, 8-5) outhit ATU .232 to .117 over the five sets and had 71 kills while holding the Golden Suns to 41.
 
SET ONE
Henderson State led early in the opening frame, taking a 5-2 edge, but the score would lock up at five all after a 3-0 burst by ATU. The Golden Suns kept the momentum string together six consecutive points to jump ahead 11-7. Arkansas Tech continued to hold the Reddies at arm's length, leading 17-13.
 
A kill by Larkin Luke sparked a 7-0 run that saw HSU take the lead 20-17 after four straight attack errors by ATU. The Reddies stayed on the front foot, closing the set on a 4-0 stretch, featuring two kills by Mendoza Quintana to win the opening frame 25-29.
 
SET TWO
A back-and-forth start saw the score tied at 2-2 and 3-3 before an exchange of points locked the frame at 6-6. HSU broke the deadlock with a 6-2 stretch, capped off by a kill from Denton and Mia Sanchez, 12-8.
 
Arkansas Tech tied the set again at 12-12 and 14-14 before HSU went ahead on a 6-0 run with back-to-back service aces by Dani Dagley,  20-14. Mendoza Quintana and Szybinska each recorded a kill to extend the Reddies' advantage to 24-17, and Jacey Tupper would get the final kill to put HSU up 2-0 in the match after a 25-18 second frame.
 
SET THREE
Another cagey start to the third frame saw five ties in the first 16 points, with Reddies and Golden Suns locked at 8-8. HSU found the first breakthrough in a kill from Mendoza Quintana to take the lead 12-10, but ATU would stay close, tying the set at 14-14 and 16-16.
 
Two kills by Mendoza Quintana and another from Szybinksa gave Henderson State the late advantage, up 21-18. However, Arkansas Tech battled back on a 7-0 run to end the set 25-21 and win its first frame of the match.
 
SET FOUR
HSU led 10-7 through the first exchanges after three kills from Denton and two from Uzoh and Szybinska. The Golden Suns found their footing, jumping ahead 14-10 on a 7-0 run and would extend their advantage to 16-12. A 4-0 burst by the Reddies saw them cut ATU's lead to one, 19-18, and would take the lead on a 3-0 run capped off by back-to-back kills by Uzoh, 21-20. Arkansas Tech responded with four straight points to get its second set win of the match 25-23 and tie the match 2-2.

SET FIVE
The Reddies had the hot hand to start the final set, as Mendoza Quintana put the team ahead 5-0 after three kills. Henderson State held the momentum as four kills by Denton and another two from Uzoh stretched the lead to 13-6. Luke put the finishing touches on a dominant final set, knocking home the last kill to win 15-7.
 
Henderson State (17-9, 8-5) continues its stay at the Duke Wells Center for a home match against Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m.