JONESBORO, Ark. (10/28/21) – Despite a strong defensive performance and 9 service aces, the Arkansas State volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Louisiana Thursday night at First National Bank Arena.
A-State (13-11, 4-8 SBC) limited the Ragin' Cajuns (12-6, 7-3) to a .158 attack percentage, while hitting .237 as a squad, and won the battle of the blocks 7-3. The Red Wolves also out-dug Louisiana 83-82.
Macey Putt led the Scarlet and Black with 20 kills and 11 digs, as she was one of three players with double-digit kills. Josie Stanford tallied a season-high 15 kills, while Elise Wilcox recorded 10. Including Putt, three Red Wolves notched double-double efforts, with Julianna Cramer (23 assists, 10 digs) and Lauren Musante (23 assists, 11 digs) achieving the feat. Cramer also fired 3 aces, with Paulina Sobolewska and Makayla Villarreal accounting for 2 apiece.
Defensively, Brianna Hollingshed knocked down 5 blocks, while Stanford recorded 3. Tatum Ticknor corralled a match-leading 34 digs, tying her season high.
Louisiana led nearly the entire opening set, taking a 5-4 lead on a kill by Kelsey Bennett to undo a 4-all deadlock. The Ragin' Cajuns held off the Red Wolves to take the set 25-21 and lead 1-0 in the match.
The Red Wolves surged ahead in the second set, never trailing and leading by as much as 15 to dominate the frame 25-10 and knot things up at a set each.
A-State seemed to continue the momentum in the third set, leading 10-4, but a 9-0 run moved the Cajuns ahead. The Red Wolves battled back to cut it to a one-point margin, but could not overcome the deficit, as Louisiana took a 2-1 lead in the contest with a 25-22 decision.
The fourth set featured 11 ties and five lead changes until A-State used an 8-1 run to lead 20-15 following a Cramer kill. Louisiana cut the deficit to 22-19 on an ace by Jordan Valley, but three straight points ended the set with A-State taking a 25-19 win in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth set.
In the fifth, A-State opened up with a 4-0 lead and led by as much as six at 9-3 after a Hollingshed kill. Louisiana closed the gap with a 6-0 run to tie it and took an 11-10 lead on a kill by Coco Gillett. Kills by Wilcox and Putt gave the Red Wolves a 12-11 advantage, but the Ragin' Cajuns clinched the match by taking four of the last five points.
NEXT UP
A-State closes out the weekend Saturday hosting ULM on Senior Night. First serve against the Warhawks is set for 6 p.m. with the match being broadcast live on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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.
