PEORIA, Ill. (9/15/12) – The Arkansas State volleyball team
defeated Northern Iowa 25-22, 14-25, 25-19, 25-21 and Bradley 25-19, 25-14,
20-25, 25-15 on the final day of competition at the CEFCU Classic hosted by
Bradley University.
Against Northern Iowa junior Kelsey Sullivan led the team with a
career-high 19 kills, while senior Jasmine Terry added 15 kills and Kelsie
Hodges finished with 11.
The Red Wolves (9-6) jumped out to a 17-12 advantage in the first
set behind a strong performance from Terry, who had six kills in the set. ASU
also had three blocks on the set and collected 20 digs on their way to a 25-22
victory.
Northern Iowa tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-14 victory in the
set, but A-State bounced back with a 25-19 victory in the third set. Terry
again paced the A-State attack with six kills, while Sullivan added five kills.
The Red Wolves had a .400 attacking percentage and a sideout percentage of 75
percent.
In the fourth set, Sullivan led the way with seven kills, while
Hodges added five as the Red Wolves earned the 25-21 set victory and a 3-1
match victory.
Megan Baska led ASU with 25 digs, while Allison Kearney had a
season-high 20 digs. Kearney also added 45 assists in the match, while Taylor
Coughlin tied her season-high with 13 digs.
“Last night didn't go exactly how we wanted against a very good
Long Beach State team but we came back responded very well today,” ASU head
volleyball coach David Rehr said. “Northern Iowa is a team that getting votes
in the top-25 poll and Bradley is a very talented team and it is good to get two
great matches and two good wins before heading into conference play.”
Against Bradley, Sullivan led the team with 16 kills, while Terry
and Hodges each added 14 kills each. Sullivan also had a career-high .448
attacking percentage to lead the team.
A-State jumped out to 21-15 led in the first set behind Terry's six
kills. Sullivan had six kills in the second set to help ASU jump out to a 2-0
match lead. Bradley bounced back in the third set with a 25-20, victory, but
the Red Wolves rebounded to take the fourth set 25-15 and trailed just once in
the finals set.
Kearney led the team with 46 assists, while Baska had 15 digs.
Kearney also added 12 digs and Coughlin finished with 10.
Sullivan was selected to the all-tournament team after collecting
43 kills in three matches and a .275 attacking percentage.
ASU will open up Sun Belt Conference play on the road Friday,
Sept. 21 at Florida Atlantic, followed by a trip to Florida International Sept.
22.
