LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (10/31/20) – Halloween provided mostly treats for the Arkansas State volleyball team on Saturday afternoon, coming in the form of a 3-0 sweep over in-state rival Little Rock.
A-State (8-5, 8-5 Sun Belt Conference) played spoiler on the Trojans' (1-13, 1-12) senior day, as Madison Brown notched her third 20-kill performance of the season in the victory. In the last two Halloween contests, the Red Wolves are 2-0 with both being sweeps.
Brown also had a few tricks up her sleeve, matching her season high with four blocks to go along with five digs. The Cabot, Arkansas, native hit .357 on the day. Josie Stanford added nine kills and three blocks, while Kendahl Davenport posted eight kills and six blocks while hitting .727 on 11 attacks. Brianna Hollingshed also was effective at the net, knocking down five blocks
Tatum Ticknor led defensively with 23 digs while Lauren Musante registered her team-leading ninth double-double with 36 assists and 13 digs to go along with three blocks. As a team, A-State tallied 11 total blocks and held the Trojans to an attack percentage of .170 on the day.
Laura Jansen led Little Rock with 16 kills and nine digs with Alyssa Nayar providing 24 assists. Noelle Carey led in digs with 13 and Zanobia Willis was the Trojans' top blocker with six.
SET 1 – A-State 25-13
A-State started off slow, with Little Rock owning a 7-3 early lead before the Red Wolves went on an 8-2 run to lead 11-9. The Trojans would tie things up at 11-11, but then the Scarlet and Black started to heat up, taking 11 of the last 13 points, including nine in a row to end the set, en route to a strong 25-13 first-set victory. The Red Wolves held Little Rock to a sub-zero attack percentage of -.081.
Brown led the way with five kills, with Musante handing out 11 assists and collecting six digs. Five of Davenport's six blocks came in the first set.
SET 2 – A-State 27-25
A-State kept the momentum going in the second, leading 5-1 early until the Trojans inched closer and tied things up at 9-9. Little Rock would keep it close from that point until the end of the set but never took a lead. An ace by Ryley Gill made it 20-18 before Little Rock began matching the Red Wolves point for point. Kills by Madison Brown gave A-State set point on two occasions, but the Trojans would tie it up at 25. Then, back to back kills by Davenport ended the set for the Scarlet and Black.
Brown added eight more kills to her total in the second set while Musante dished out 15 assists. Davenport was more of a factor offensively, notching five of her eight kills.
SET 3 – A-State 25-23
Little Rock took an early lead to start the third set, but a 4-0 run by the Red Wolves would give A-State a 9-6 lead and force the Trojans to call a timeout. The Red Wolves would continue the momentum and lead by as much as nine at 24-15 after an ace by Brown. Little Rock, however, would go on to save eight match points in a row and force the Red Wolves to call a timeout up 24-23. After the break, Brown ended the match with her 20th kill, sending A-State home with their seventh straight victory at Little Rock.
Brown ended the match with seven kills in the third set and Musante added 10 assists. Ticknor was strong on the back row, collecting 14 digs while all five of Hollingshed's blocks came in the third.
A-State returns home for its final three matches of the regular season, hosting reigning conference champion and 13th-ranked Texas State at First National Bank Arena on November 6-7.
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.
