NACOGDOCHES, Texas (9/16/22) – The Arkansas State volleyball team dropped a pair of four-set decisions on Friday to open the SFA Hampton Inn Invitational inside the Shelton Gym.
A-State (5-6) first lost 3-1 to Eastern Washington before seeing the same outcome in its evening contest against Texas A&M-Commerce.
MATCH 1 | EASTERN WASHINGTON 3 – ARKANSAS STATE 1
Arkansas State opened the weekend against Eastern Washington and tied the match up at a set apiece before the Eagles took the third and fourth to escape with the four-set win.
Ilayda Dincer led the Red Wolves with 14 kills, while Kyla Wiersema hit .300 on 11 kills to go along with five blocks. Macey Putt registered her third double-double of the young season with 10 kills and 12 digs.
Lauren Musante led A-State's setters with 26 assists, while Kassidy Reeves added 13 with four aces.
Defensively, Sarah Martinez led all players with 16 digs and handed out five assists.
SET 1 – EASTERN WASHINGTON 25, A-STATE 17
A-State took an early 2-0 lead in the opening set after a kill by Kyla Wiersema. The Eagles then responded by taking a 4-3 lead. After the Red Wolves reclaimed a 5-4 edge on a kill by Putt, EWU took 11 of the next 15 points to build a 15-8 advantage. A-State clawed back to within four on a kill by Wiersema before the Eagles' lead was once again seven after a block. Eastern Washington closed the set by taking six of the last nine points to lead 1-0 in the match.
SET 2 – A-STATE 25, EASTERN WASHINGTON 23
Eastern Washington retained early momentum into the second set, leading 4-0 and as much as 9-3 before an A-State timeout. That lead ballooned to as much as nine in the set until the Red Wolves roared back with 10 consecutive points to take the lead. Reeves served a trio of aces during that spurt, while a Dincer kill gave the Scarlet and Black set point up 24-22. The Eagles fought back to cut it to 24-23, but a service error halted the comeback as A-State knotted up the match at a set apiece.
SET 3 – EASTERN WASHINGTON 25, A-STATE 20
The Red Wolves began the third with three of the first four points before EWU moved ahead with a 6-1 stretch. A Wiersema kill later trimmed the margin to 11-9, but a 5-0 Eastern Washington run made it 16-9. The Eagles staved off a late run by A-State to take the set 25-20 and lead 2-1 in the contest.
SET 4 – EASTERN WASHINGTON 25, A-STATE 19
The sides exchanged leads early in the fourth until Eastern Washington took a 10-5 lead on an ace to cap off a 7-2 run. A-State rallied to cut it to two on a Putt ace, but could not overtake the Eagles, who expanded their lead to as much as seven in the stanza. A late run by the Red Wolves made it 23-19 before EWU clinched the set and match on a block.
MATCH 2 | TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 3 – A-STATE 1
A trio of Red Wolves recorded double-digit kills in Friday's second match, led by a dozen from Elise Wilcox. Kyla Wiersema and Ilayda Dincer added 11 kills apiece.
Sarah Martinez collected 20 digs, while Lauren Musante handed out 24 assists.
SET 1 – TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 25, A-STATE 21
After Texas A&M-Commerce opened with the match's first three points and led by as much as 8-3 early, A-State rallied to tie it at 10 on a kill by Wilcox. She then registered another kill to give the Red Wolves a 12-11 edge before a 3-0 run put the Lions back in front. A stretch of five straight kills, including four straight by Dincer, helped give A-State an 18-16 lead and force a timeout.
The Lions came out of the timeout and closed the set by taking nine of the next 12 points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
SET 2 – TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 25, A-STATE 19
Texas A&M-Commerce held an early advantage in the second set until A-State tied it at 9-all on a kill by Helzer. The Red Wolves then used a 3-0 run to take a 14-12 lead before the Lions claimed six of the next eight points to lead 18-16. A-State managed to cut the deficit to 20-19 on a Wilcox kill, but Texas A&M-Commerce took the last five points in the frame to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 – A-STATE 25, TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 22
The Red Wolves faced an early 7-3 deficit, but did not fall away in the third set. A-State remained within two points for much of the set before taking a 15-13 lead after Billings capped a 3-0 run with a solo block. The Lions managed to tie it up on multiple occasions, but another 3-0 stretch that included kills by Wiersema and Dincer made it 22-19. After Texas A&M-Commerce knotted it up at 22-all, Arkansas State extended the match with three straight points to clinch the third set.
SET 4 – TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 25, A-STATE 23
Looking to force a fifth set, A-State battled back from an early deficit to tie it at 11 following a kill by Wilcox. The Lions then expanded their lead out to as much as four before the Scarlet and Black knotted it at 21-all after kills by Dincer and Wilcox. Dincer later saved a set point, but Texas A&M-Commerce held on to clinch the match.
NEXT UP
A-State concludes non-conference play Saturday, taking on tournament host Stephen F. Austin. First serve at Shelton Gym is set for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@AStateVB) and Instagram (astatevb) along with liking the Arkansas State Red Wolves Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.
