ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- Four Pitt State players recorded double figure kills, as the Gorilla Volleyball team pushed Henderson State to five sets before eventually falling, 3-2 (25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12). The the early match, the Gorillas lost to Arkansas Tech, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23).

Maggie Highberger led the Gorillas with 13 kills and also added two service aces. Lauren Regier recorded 12 kills, while Raven Lawlor and Peyton Walker each had 11. Setter Kylie Farris recorded a double-double 21 assists and 11 digs. Fellow setter Cal VanBuskirk was just short of that with 19 assists and eight digs. 

The Gorillas put down 11.0 blocks in the match, including five (two solo blocks and three block assists) from Taylor Unke. Madi Denton added four block assists, Walker, one solo block and two block assists, and Regier, three block assists. 

Ashlen Schwartz led the team with 19 digs. 

Pitt State hit .198 for the match, including a match-high.323 in the fourth set. 

PSU lost the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-20, before coming back to win set three. Though the Gorillas only had 10 kills, they also only had four errors, while allowing the Reddies only a .077 hitting percentage with 14 kills and 11 errors. 

Henderson State led early 5-4 before a Regier kill and a Highberger block gave Pitt State the 6-5 lead. A block by Regier and Unke stretched the lead to two points. Henderson State scored one more before the Gorillas went on a 13-1 run behind the serves of Lauren Dunn and Highberger to take a 20-7 lead. The run was capped by a Highberger service ace. 

The two teams traded points before the Reddies went on an 11-1 run of its own to come within three points of the Gorillas at 22-19. A Regier kill stopped the run. The two teams traded points again making the score, 20-24. Henderson State fought off match point twice before a Regier kill ended the set. 

The fourth set went back and forth with eight ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points at any point in the match. A Henderson State service ace broke a 22-22 tie and gave them a 23-22 lead. Pitt State answered with a two Highberger kills and an error by the Reddies earned the Gorillas the 25-23 win. 

The fifth set saw Pitt State jump out to an early 7-2 lead in the fifth set. Henderson State brought the set within two at 7-5 before Highberger put down yet another kill to push the score to 8-5. The Reddies would come close, but Pitt State held onto the lead until a tie at 11-11. Three more points put Henderson State at match point 14-11. The Gorillas fought it off once with a Lawlor kill, but Henderson got the final say to win the set 15-12 and take the match 3-2. 

All the scores were close in the 3-0 loss to Arkansas Tech, but the Golden Suns put down 11 more kills, making the difference in the match. 

Walker led the Gorillas with 15 kills. Schwartz and Lawlor each had 13 digs, while Maggie Highberger added 10. 

Pitt State will play its final pre-conference tournament next weekend in Shawnee and Edmond, Okla. The team will take on Oklahoma Baptist and Southeastern Oklahoma in Shawnee on Friday (September 16), before facing Southern Nazarene and East Central the following day at Central Oklahoma's Hamilton Fieldhouse in Edmond.