Arkansas Tech University volleyball did more than exceed expectations in 2025.
The Golden Suns proved to themselves that they can compete with the best in the Great American Conference.
After being picked to finish ninth in the 12-team league, the 2025 Arkansas Tech volleyball team was in the hunt for the GAC regular season championship until the final week. The Golden Suns finished top-4 in the league and advanced to the GAC Tournament for the first time since 2022.
“I think they now know what it takes,” said Hannah Wuest, who is beginning her second season as Arkansas Tech head volleyball coach. “When you are there, experience it, feel the high of the highs and the low of the lows…you know what to expect. I think that was the biggest thing. It’s not the potential anymore. We’ve done this before, and that gives them so much more confidence to go out and do it again.”
The 2025 season was Wuest’s first as a head coach. She experienced the benefits of learning on the job while enjoying year one success.
“You don’t have to have all the answers,” said Wuest. “It’s okay to ask your players and figure this out together. When I first got here, I felt like I had to solve every issue…every problem they brought to me, I had to give them the right answer. Now, I’ve started to learn these ladies can figure these things out themselves. They really know what they want to do with this culture. They know where they want to take this program.
“So, sometimes we just have to talk about it, and they sometimes come up with the answer,” continued Wuest. “I think that makes it stick a little more instead of me always saying ‘here, I’ll solve it for you.’ It helps them grow a little bit, too.”
That evolution in Wuest’s coaching style has helped Arkansas Tech volleyball become more of a player-led program as the Golden Suns prepare for the 2026 season.
“The biggest thing I wanted to see off the court was their leadership and taking full accountability for what they want to do,” said Wuest when asked what she wanted to accomplish in the offseason. “On the court…they are so athletic, and that was the first thing I noticed when I got here last year. These girls were athletic. I needed to make them volleyball players, so we fine-tuned a few things this spring. More what I’m seeing is off the court leadership. They are so quick to hold each other accountable, and it feels so much better coming from the players and not me all the time. They are the driving force of (our culture), and I think it’s really fun to watch the veterans take hold of that and make it their own.”
The Golden Suns return 14 players from 2025, so Wuest’s offseason recruiting was focused on filling gaps created by graduation and preparing for the future.
“We had a great foundation of kids already here,” said Wuest. “It was making the people we have better, which was big, but also having to replace six-rotation Millie (Allgood). She did things that weren’t in the stats. Her leadership on the court was huge, so I knew I needed to bring in someone with the potential of that. I brought in a few transfers that I think could really step into that leadership role.
“Kenzie Garrett played great for us last year, and I thought I needed somebody else to learn from her,” continued Wuest. “So, I brought in a setter, Kylie Lambert, as a freshman. I think it’s hard to run the offense as a freshman, but I think her and Kenzie together will be really fun to watch.”
The Golden Suns will begin their 50th season of intercollegiate volleyball Aug. 28-29 at the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, Kan.
Arkansas Tech will make its 2026 volleyball season home debut when it hosts Henderson State University for a GAC match at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.
“Establishing our identity is a big thing,” said Wuest. “That doesn’t happen overnight. It takes thousands of quality reps. Aug. 28 will be here in a blink of an eye. I don’t want us to play our best volleyball in August. I want us to play our best volleyball at the end of October and beginning of November. I think that first tournament will be a real big eye-opener in terms of these are the things we need to work on.”
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
