JONESBORO, Ark. (10/9/20) – Early momentum was key on Friday night at First National Bank Arena, as Arkansas State volleyball rode it to a 3-0 sweep (25-11, 25-12, 25-8) against ULM in the series finale.
A-State (4-1, 4-1 Sun Belt Conference) held the Warhawks (1-10, 0-8) to a sub-zero attack percentage of -.117 to close out the three-match stretch while recording seven total blocks as a team. In three matches, the Red Wolves were dominant at the net, knocking down 32 total. With the win, A-State improved its winning streak versus ULM to 39 straight matches and won four straight conference matches for the first time since 2018. The Red Wolves' 4-1 start to league play is the best by an A-State team through five matches since 2016 (4-1).
Madison Brown led the Red Wolves offensively with 11 kills and a .333 attack percentage. Lauren Musante posted her third double-double in five matches with 27 assists and 10 digs. In three matches over the weekend, the junior recorded 79 assists. Tatum Ticknor led the Red Wolves defensively with 14 digs while Kendahl Davenport added four of A-State's seven blocks.
Shaska Davis led ULM with five kills while McKinley Thiede handed out 11 assists. Madeline Hogan was ULM's digs leader with 10.
SET 1 – A-State 25-11
The Red Wolves opened the match on fire, taking 10 of the first 13 points before ULM called timeout to regroup. A 3-0 run by the Warhawks made it 12-7, but A-State went on a 7-1 run to extend its lead out to 19-8. The Scarlet and Black would continue to roll in the set, taking it 25-11.
Musante dished out 13 assists and served an ace in the set. Sobolewska was on the attacking end on six of those assists while Brown added five kills. Sobolewska also added five digs to lead the Red Wolves. Kendahl Davenport posted two solo blocks, as the Red Wolves notched 3.0 total blocks in the set.
SET 2 – ULM 25-12
A-State kept it going in the second set, mounting to an early 3-0 lead. An attack error by Sobolewska made it 5-3, which would ultimately be the smallest deficit ULM would face in the set, as the Red Wolves began to expand its lead after that. An 8-2 run made it 13-5 before ULM would try to gain a little momentum to make it 15-9. A-State would go on to take 10 of the last 13 points in the set to claim a two-set lead over the Warhawks.
Brown added five more kills to her total with Musante handing out six assists. Ticknor added six digs and Davenport knocked down her third solo block of the night. As a team, the Red Wolves once again held the Warhawks to a negative attack percentage (-.125) in the set.
SET 3 – A-State 25-8
The third set was much of the same, with the Red Wolves coming out of the intermission with a 3-0 lead. ULM never managed to go on a scoring run, as the A-State lead continued to balloon to 15-4, when the Warhawks called a timeout. ULM only managed four more points for the entire set, as the Red Wolves cruised to a 25-8 third-set decision. A-State recorded a perfect sideout percentage in the set, going 9-9 in sideout opportunities.
Davenport led with four kills in the set, with Hollingshed adding three. Musante closed out the match with eight more assists while Ticknor collected four more digs. Brown also tallied a pair of blocks and helped hold the Warhawks to a negative attack percentage of -.161 in the frame.
A-State is back in action next week, traveling to Arlington to face UT Arlington in a three-match series starting with a doubleheader on Friday, Oct. 16 (11 a.m./6 p.m.). The Red Wolves then close the series against the Mavericks Saturday at 1 p.m. The matches 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.
