LAFAYETTE, La. (10/23/20) – Madison Brown tallied a career-high 34 kills on Friday night, lifting Arkansas State to a 3-1 victory over Louisiana at Earl K. Long Gym.
The senior also tallied 15 digs to give her a double-double in her career-best day. A-State (6-4, 6-4 Sun Belt Conference) held the Ragin' Cajuns (12-4, 6-4) to an attack percentage of just .105 in the match, knocking down 15.0 blocks in the match. With the win, the Red Wolves evened the weekend series at a match each.
Brown's 34 kills are the most by a player in Division I this season and the most by a Red Wolf since before 2010. Her mark was just five kills shy of the school record of 39 set in 1997 by Beth Cochran.
Lauren Musante handed out over 40 assists for the fourth straight match, notching 41 to go along with 11 digs to give her a team-leading seven double-doubles on the year. She also served three of A-State's four aces. Kendahl Davenport knocked down eight blocks, with Brianna Hollingshed right behind her at seven. Tatum Ticknor collected 25 digs to lead the Red Wolves.
Hali Wisnoskie led Louisiana with 13 kills, with Lauren Tishkoff adding 12. Avery Breaux dished out 36 assists and tallied 17 digs. Hannah Ramirez was her team's leader in digs with 18 while Tia Jade Smith knocked down a team-high five blocks.
SET 1 – A-State 25-16
A-State took the first four points on kills by Brown and a block by Davenport to lead 4-0 before Louisiana went on a 3-0 run to cut it to 4-3. The Red Wolves continued to extend their lead, with Louisiana calling a timeout with A-State ahead 12-7. The Ragin' Cajuns struggled to establish momentum, calling a timeout down 17-10 to the Red Wolves.
Out of the timeout, Brown and the Red Wolves continued the momentum en route to taking the first set 25-16 and owning a 1-0 lead in the match. Brown was dominant offensively with 10 kills and an attack percentage of .562.
SET 2 – Louisiana 25-19
The Red Wolves took an early 2-0 lead, but Louisiana fought back to tie it up and make it a back-and-forth set with several ties and lead changes. After a kill by Stanford tied it at 14, the Ragin' Cajuns went on a 5-0 run to lead 19-14. Louisiana continued to hold off the Red Wolves, taking the second set 25-19. Brown added seven more kills to her total in the
SET 3 – A-State 25-16
A-State opened the third set with a 7-3 run before Louisiana battled back to tie things up at 11-all. After a kill by Tishkoff to make it 14-13, the Red Wolves went on a 10-0 run to hold set point at 24-13. The Ragin' Cajuns saved three set points, but A-State managed to hold on and take the set 25-16 to lead 2-1 in the match.
Brown tacked on seven more kills in the set to match her career best set versus UT Arlington on Oct. 16, while Musante contributed 10 assists.
SET 4 – A-State 25-20
The Red Wolves opened up with a 4-1 lead in the fourth, but the Ragin' Cajuns then took a 7-6 lead. After Louisiana tied it up at 8-all, a 4-1 run put A-State ahead 12-9 and forced the Ragin' Cajuns to call a timeout. The Red Wolves continued to extend their lead, leading by as much as eight at 21-13 when Louisiana went on a 3-0 run to cut it to 21-17. The Ragin' Cajuns continued to battle back, trimming the deficit to 23-20, but Brown's final kill and an attack error by Louisiana ended the match.
Brown's final set concluded with 10 kills while Musante added 12 assists.
A-State will wrap up the series Saturday afternoon, taking on the Ragin' Cajuns at 1 p.m. CT at Earl K. Long Gym. The match will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and live stats can be viewed at AStateStats.com.
Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@AStateVB) and Instagram (astatevb) along with liking the Arkansas State University Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.
