NASHVILLE, Tenn. (9/21/13) – The Arkansas State volleyball team dropped its first match of the day against Belmont (6-9) by a score of 3-1 (16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23) and fell to Mississippi State (9-5) by a count of 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-18).

In the first set against Belmont, A-State (4-10) jumped out to an 8-3 lead after a Jackie Gerig service ace, but the Bruins got within two points at 13-11 after a kill.  The Bruins wouldn't get any closer than that after a 12-5 A-State run, capped by a Belmont attack error, closed out a 25-16 first set victory for the Red Wolves.  With A-State leading the match 1-0, the Bruins got out to a 15-10 lead in the second set.  The Red Wolves fought back to tie the set at 17-17, but an 8-4 Belmont run clinched the 25-21 second set victory for the Bruins and tied the match at 1-1.

The third set was a back and forth game for most of it.  After A-State tied it at 10-10 on a Sadie Clark kill, there were eight other ties, with the last coming at 22-22.  A kill on the next pivotal point for Belmont sparked a 3-0 streak to give the Bruins a 25-22 victory in the third set.  The fourth set started out much the same as the third with A-State tying it at 10-10 on a Kelsey Reis kill.  The score went back and forth until A-State took a 23-22 lead on a Bruin attack error and forced a Belmont timeout.  The timeout spawned a 3-0 run that gave Belmont a 25-23 fourth set victory and a 3-1 match win over the Red Wolves.

Offensively, the Red Wolves were led by Clark's 15 kills and Gerig's 38 assists.  Defensively, Megan Baska led A-State with 21 digs and Reis registered five total blocks to pace the Red Wolves.

In the first set against Mississippi State, the Red Wolves jumped out to a 7-1 lead after a Kendal Davis and Reis block and the Bulldogs had to take a timeout.  After the timeout, MSU reeled off four straight points to get within 7-6 and eventually took the lead 13-12.  A-State was able to tie the set at 16-16 off another Davis and Reis block, but a 9-4 Bulldog run clinched the first set for Mississippi State by a score of 25-20.  The second set started out back and forth with the set tied 8-8 before a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs put the A-State deficit at 15-8.  The Red Wolves couldn't get any closer than five points at 15-10 and the Bulldogs used a 10-6 run to clinch a 25-16 second set victory for a 2-0 match lead. 

The third set started out well for A-State as the Red Wolves jumped out to a 13-7 lead on a Reis kill.  A-State stretched the lead out to 19-11 on a Gerig and Kelsey Sullivan block.  The Bulldogs got within three points at 24-21, but a Bulldog service error gave the Red Wolves a 25-21 third set victory and set the match score at 2-1 heading into the fourth set.  The Red Wolves got off to a slow start in the fourth set and were down 13-4 before a 5-2 run got A-State within six points at 15-9.  The Bulldogs stretched its lead out to 21-11 before a 4-0 A-State run put the score at 21-15.  MSU ended the set on a 4-3 run to win fourth set 25-18 and clinch a 3-1 match victory.

Reis led the Red Wolves with 13 kills against the Bulldogs on a .667 hitting percentage and Gerig dished out 29 assists to pace A-State offensively.  Defensively, Baska led A-State with 16 digs, while Reis added six blocks.

“We took a step backward this weekend,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said. “It was a rough weekend, but we've got to get ready for the real season that begins Friday when conference play starts.”

Baska was named to the Belmont Bruin Classic All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend.  Baska led the Red Wolves with 49 digs, for a 4.45 digs per set average and only had three return errors.  She was also second on the team with nine assists during the tournament and recorded two service aces.