BOONE, N.C. (11/8/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball team won its sixth straight match Saturday night by defeating Appalachian State 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-11, 26-24) at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C.

The Red Wolves (17-8, 12-4) came out strong in the third set after splitting the first two sets with the Mountaineers (19-7, 9-7) by jumping out to a 7-1 lead early.  A kill from Sarah Kemp put A-State on top 15-5 later on in the set, but Appalachian State cut its deficit to 19-11 on a kill by Jess Keller.  However, the Mountaineers wouldn't get any closer as the Red Wolves closed the set on a 6-0 run, capped by a Mallory Warrington and Kelsey Reis kill, to win the set 25-11.

The Mountaineers opened the fourth set strong by gaining a 10-7 advantage on a service ace, but A-State quickly responded to tie the set at 13-13 on a Kariana Castanon-Hill kill.  The Red Wolves took the lead at 18-17 on an Appalachian State attack error, but the Mountaineers took the lead back at 21-20 on another service ace.  A-State responded with three straight kills for a 23-21 edge, but Appalachian State rallied to tie it at 24-24.  The Red Wolves won the next two points on a service error and attack error to take the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.

“This was a great road win for us,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said.  “This was our toughest trip by far and they have a great volleyball environment here.  They're a very solid team and we didn't play our best at times, but I'm glad we were able to get the win.”

Drew Jones led the Red Wolves with 13 kills on a .355 hitting percentage, while Castanon-Hill tallied 10 kills on a team-high .400 hitting percentage.  Warrington dished out 44 assists and added 15 digs to earn her team-leading 19th double-double and Kemp had three service aces to lead the squad.  Defensively, Markie Schaedig led the team with 31 digs and Jessica Uke had five blocks with three being block solos.

Appalachian State began the contest by racing out to a 12-9 lead in the first set before outscoring the Red Wolves 13-8 the rest of the way for a 25-17 set win.  Both teams battled to a 12-12 tie in the second set before an 8-2 A-State run put the Red Wolves on top 20-14.  Appalachian State got as close as three points at 24-21, but a service error gave A-State a 25-21 second game victory.