JONESBORO, Ark. (11/16/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball squad, powered by a career-high and team season-high 10 blocks from Kelsey Reis, picked up its eighth straight win with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17) victory versus Sun Belt Conference foe Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

The barrage of blocks by Reis began in the first set when she registered five of her blocks, including a block solo.  She went on to add a block solo in every set to end the day with another career high and team season high of four block solos.  The Red Wolves recorded 12 total blocks as a team, their fourth highest total of the season.

“Our huge focus today was defensive intensity,” Reis said.  “I just really wanted to focus on doing my job and helping out with that by doing my part with the blocking.”

A-State (19-8, 14-4) was able to capitalize on Reis's blocks early in the first set as she registered a block solo on the second point of the match to give Arkansas State an early 2-0 lead.  The Eagles (7-21, 6-12) responded to tie the set at 7-7, but a Jessica Uke kill on the next point gave the Red Wolves a lead they wouldn't relinquish as A-State went on to win the set by a score of 25-16.

The second set proved to be tougher for Arkansas State as Georgia Southern gained an early 10-7 edge after a service error.  The Red Wolves rallied with a 4-0 run to take an 11-10 lead after a Markie Schaedig service ace and eventually found themselves ahead 22-18 after a block from Kariana Castanon-Hill and Uke.  The Eagles got within three at 23-20, but a Castanon-Hill kill and ensuing Georgia Southern attack error gave the Red Wolves a 25-20 win in the second set.

Arkansas State and Georgia Southern battled through 15 ties and four lead changes in the third set.  A-State began the set with a 10-6 lead, but the Eagles held a 20-18 edge later in the set.  A 3-0 run by the Red Wolves put the team on top 21-20 and forced Georgia Southern to use a timeout.  Both teams were knotted up at 23-23, but the Eagles won the next two points to force game four.

Georgia Southern started the fourth set with a 6-4 advantage, but A-State went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Castanon-Hill kill, to earn a 12-6 lead.  The Red Wolves wouldn't look back after that and stretched their advantage to eight points on several occasions, including the last point of the set when a Uke kill gave Arkansas State a 25-17 set victory and 3-1 match win.

“This was a must win for us because we're to the stage where every game is important to us for seeding purposes in the conference tournament,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said.  “We'll definitely take this win over a good Georgia Southern team, especially after having to keep our focus with the delay at the beginning.”

The A-State offense recorded its third highest attacking percentage of the season by hitting at a .331 clip and hit over .300 in all four sets of the match.  Sarah Kemp led the way with 16 kills, while Drew Jones (11) and Uke (10) also tallied double-digit numbers.  Uke led the team with a .600 hitting percentage while no A-State player hit below a .233 mark.  Mallory Warrington dished out 45 assists and recorded 15 digs to earn her team-leading 21st double-double of the year.

Defensively, Schaedig led the Red Wolves with 17 digs and Kemp added 10 of her own to give her a double-double, her 10th of the season.  In addition to Reis's numbers blocking, A-State had five other players tally at least one block with Castanon-Hill registering the second most on the squad with four, all block assists.  Kemp had two block assists, while Jones, Uke, and Warrington each added one.