JONESBORO, Ark. (8/26/22) – Head Coach Brian Gerwig earned his first career victory as the Arkansas State volleyball team split the first day of the A-State Invitational on Friday.
The Red Wolves (1-1) picked up a quick sweep of Mississippi Valley State before dropping a hard-fought five-set decision to Saint Louis in the nightcap.
MATCH 1 | ARKANSAS STATE 3 – MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 0
Arkansas State was aggressive early and often from behind the service line to open the year, firing 19 aces en route to a season-opening sweep against Mississippi Valley State.
Kassidy Reeves led the way with six of those aces – the most by an A-State player in a match since Allison Kearney on Sept. 16, 2011 (7 vs Alcorn State). The squad's 19 aces are also the most in a single match since that date, when the Red Wolves did so against the Braves. Reeves also piloted A-State's offense with 18 assists.
Rookie Kyla Wiersema led all players with seven kills and a .357 hitting percentage while serving three aces and having a hand in a pair of blocks. Twin sister Maddie Wiersema recorded a pair of blocks to go along with five kills. Ilayda Dincer tallied six kills and a .308 clip, while libero Sarah Martinez corralled nine digs and served four aces.
SET 1 – A-STATE 25, MVSU 9
A-State scored the first eight points to start the match with an early 8-0 lead. The Devilettes trimmed the deficit down to 10-5, but the Red Wolves took 15 of the final 19 points to take the opening set 25-9.
SET 2 – A-STATE 25, MVSU 10
The Red Wolves captured the first three points on kills by Dincer and Yazmyn Billings and a Reeves ace. MVSU evened the set score at 5-all before A-State scored 10 straight points, including four consecutive aces by Martinez, to make it 15-5. Back-to-back aces by Bailey Helzer upped the Red Wolves' lead to 19-8. The Scarlet and Black went on to claim six of the last eight points to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 – A-STATE 25, MVSU 13
MVSU took an early 4-1 lead in the final set before A-State clawed back to tie it at 8-all. A Kyla Wiersema ace sparked a run of nine straight points to make it 17-8 Red Wolves. A-State held off the Devilettes late, creating distance with a 4-0 run before taking the match with a 25-13 third-set victory.
MATCH 2 | SAINT LOUIS 3 – ARKANSAS STATE 2
A-State battled back from a tough opening set to take a 2-1 lead, but Saint Louis closed strong to escape with a 3-2 victory in the final match of the day.
Macey Putt accounted for 26 kills on 59 attacks for a blistering .322 hitting percentage to go along with 13 digs, while Bailey Helzer added 18 kills and nine digs. Fellow rookie Kyla Wiersema hit .367 with 14 kills on the night.
Kassidy Reeves handed out 54 assists to become the first A-State setter with 50-plus assists since 2018 (Ellie Watkins, Nov. 17 versus Appalachian State), while also tallying 15 digs.
The Red Wolves fired double-digit aces for the second straight match with 10 behind five from Elise Wilcox and four by Sarah Martinez, who also recorded a career-best 30 digs to lead all players.
SET 1 – SAINT LOUIS 28, A-STATE 26
A-State started the first set on a tear, taking nine of the first 11 points before a back-to-back Wilcox aces forced an early SLU timeout. The Billikens rallied to trim the deficit to one after the break before a Helzer kill made it 20-18 A-State.
A block by SLU's Kayla Richardson evened the score at 20-all, with a Putt ace giving the Red Wolves set point at 24-23. After a timeout, Saint Louis forced extra points and ultimately took the set on three straight kills by Mak Hill.
SET 2 – A-STATE 25, SAINT LOUIS 12
The Red Wolves once again opened strong in the second set, surging ahead to an early 7-1 lead. A 4-0 run by SLU then cut the deficit to 9-7 before A-State rattled off six straight points to expand the lead back out to 19-9.
Saint Louis would muster just three points the rest of the frame, as A-State evened the match with a commanding 25-12 decision.
SET 3 – A-STATE 25, SAINT LOUIS 20
After A-State took a 4-1 lead in the third on a pair of Helzer kills, the Billikens tied it at 4 with three straight points. Later in the set, a Sarah Martinez ace pushed A-State lead out to 15-10 at the media timeout.
A-State's largest lead of the match came on a Putt kill to make it 16-10, but Saint Louis trimmed the margin to 20-17. The Red Wolves staved off the late comeback to take a 2-1 lead in the match with the third-set triumph.
SET 4 – SAINT LOUIS 25, A-STATE 21
The fourth set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team led by more than two until the Billikens took an 18-15 lead on an attack error, forcing an A-State timeout.
An ace by Emily Henken gave Saint Louis a 23-19 advantage before the Red Wolves responded with kills by Putt and Wilcox to make it 23-21. The Billikens went on to take the final two points to force a match-deciding fifth set.
SET 5 – SAINT LOUIS 15, A-STATE 11
Saint Louis took three of the first four points, but the Red Wolves held strong to keep the final set close. The Billikens held match point at 14-10, but a Putt kill kept the match going before a kill by Irmak Gokcen.
NEXT UP
The Red Wolves close out the A-State Invitational with a familiar foe, taking on in-state rival Little Rock Saturday inside First National Bank Arena. First serve is set for 2 p.m. and the match will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
Season tickets and single-match general admission tickets are on sale at astateredwolves.com/tickets and by calling the A-State Ticket Office at 870-972-2781.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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