MARTIN, Tenn. (9/2/22) – Arkansas State's volleyball team got off to a strong start on Friday to start the Skyhawk Invitational, taking a pair of victories inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
In the tourney opener, the Red Wolves (4-1) battled back from down 2-1 to Western Illinois to earn its second consecutive five-set victory before sweeping Alabama A&M later in the day.
MATCH 1 | ARKANSAS STATE 3 – WESTERN ILLINOIS 2
Friday's first match saw Arkansas State knock down a season-high 14.0 blocks as a squad and once again claw back from a 2-1 deficit to take a five-set victory over Western Illinois.
Freshmen Yazmyn Billings and Kyla Wiersema anchored the middle with seven blocks apiece, while setter Lauren Musante was involved on five of those blocks. A-State out-dug the Leathernecks 59-47 while holding their opponent to a .151 hitting percentage.
Offensively, four Red Wolves registered double-digit kills, led by Macey Putt's 19. The Ozark, Mo., native did so on 43 attacks for a .233 clip and recorded her second double-double of the year with 13 digs. Ilayda Dincer added a career-best 12 kills, while Wiersema added 11 kills on 19 attacks for a mark of .368. Elise Wilcox also knocked down 11 kills and hit .500 and served a pair of aces.
Musante joined Putt with a double-double, handing out 49 assists with 13 digs.
SET 1 – WESTERN ILLINOIS 25, A-STATE 20
A-State started off strong, taking an early 5-2 lead on kills by Wiersema and Putt before the Leathernecks took a 7-5 advantage on a 5-0 run. The sides then traded leads before the Red Wolves led 15-12 on back-to-back blocks. Another Putt kill pushed it to 17-15, but Western Illinois rallied with another 5-0 stretch to lead 20-17 and force the Scarlet and Black to call a timeout.
The Red Wolves responded with three straight to tie it at 20-all after the break in action, but WIU closed the set with five consecutive points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
SET 2 – A-STATE 25, WESTERN ILLINOIS 9
Arkansas State surged ahead 8-3 early in the second, with a solo block by Billings forcing the Leathernecks to call a timeout. The momentum continued after the break, as A-State continued to build its lead.
A Dincer kill gave the Red Wolves a 10-point advantage at 16-6 before that lead grew to 21-8 on a WIU attack error. A-State cruised past its foe the rest of the way and tied the match at a set apiece with a dominant 25-9 decision.
SET 3 – WESTERN ILLINOIS 28, A-STATE 26
The third set featured 19 ties and seven lead changes, as Arkansas State overcame an early deficit to lead 12-9 on a solo block by Wiersema. A-State won the race to 20 when Musante connected with Wilcox for a kill. A block by Wiersema and Dincer then forced a Western Illinois timeout with the score at 22-21 A-State.
A-State saved three set points to extend the set and knot it at 26-all, but a pair of kills gave the Leathernecks the 28-26 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
SET 4 – A-STATE 27, WESTERN ILLINOIS 25
A-State did not go away in the fourth set, taking a 7-3 lead early on a kill by Wiersema. Western Illinois trimmed the Red Wolves' lead and ultimately led 14-13 on a kill by Hailey Sperling. Then, the Scarlet and Black once again got hot, taking seven of the next nine points to lead 20-16 and force a timeout.
An ace by Musante later gave A-State multiple set points to work with, but WIU saved two to force a Red Wolves timeout. The Leathernecks tied it at 24-all after the timeout, then took a 25-24 lead on a block to hold match point. The Red Wolves would go on to force a fifth set for the third straight match, taking the set 27-25 on a kill by Dincer.
SET 5 – A-STATE 15, WESTERN ILLINOIS 12
Western Illinois led by as much as four in the final frame, leading 11-7, but that was no problem for A-State, which heated up from behind the service line to spark the comeback.
The Red Wolves closed the match on an 8-1 scoring run, including five straight to seal the victory. Wilcox started the run with a kill followed by back-to-back aces, forcing a Leathernecks timeout. After WIU reclaimed serve, A-State closed with its match-ending 5-0 run.
MATCH 2 | ARKANSAS STATE 3 – ALABAMA A&M 0
In the second half of Friday's twin bill, Arkansas State hit at an astounding .357 clip and held Alabama A&M to just .000 en route to a three-set sweep. The Red Wolves' hitting percentage was the best by an A-State team since Oct. 28, 2017 (.464 vs Georgia Southern).
Macey Putt led the way with 11 kills and a .476 hitting percentage while Kyla Wiersema notched eight kills and a .583 mark. The Red Wolves fired seven aces, including three by Putt and two by Sarah Martinez. Wiersema and Clara Parker also registered an ace.
Lauren Musante handed out 25 assists, while Kassidy Reeves delivered 10 to help guide A-State's attack.
Defensively, the Red Wolves knocked down six blocks, with Wiersema and Yazmyn Billings accounting for three each. Martinez led all players with 13 digs.
SET 1 – A-State 25, Alabama A&M 9
Arkansas State roared ahead early against Alabama A&M, leading by as much as 16 and hitting a blistering .577 in the opening set.
The Red Wolves never trailed after taking the first three points of the match. After the Bulldogs cut it to 5-3, A-State claimed nine straight points to expand the lead back out to 14-3. Alabama A&M rallied to make it 15-8, but another 9-0 run that included a pair of Martinez aces gave the Scarlet and Black set point up 24-8. After a kill by the Bulldogs, Dincer ended the opening frame with a kill to give her team a 1-0 lead in the match.
SET 2 – A-State 25, Alabama A&M 12
In the second set, Alabama A&M took an early 1-0 lead, but that advantage would not last long as A-State went on a 9-2 run to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs trimmed the margin to 9-5, but the Scarlet and Black kept its opposition off-balance and led 20-8 after a Bailey Helzer kill.
A kill by Billings gave the Red Wolves set point up 24-11 before an Alabama A&M service error ended the set and gave A-State a commanding two-set lead.
SET 3 – A-State 25, Alabama A&M 15
The Bulldogs kept the third set close early, with A-State not leading by more than three until it closed the match on a 10-2 run to seal the victory.
Alabama A&M led 4-3 after an attack error, but the Red Wolves moved ahead 7-4 after Billings and Putt capped off a 4-0 run with a block. The Bulldogs later tied it at 12-all, then a 6-1 A-State stretch forced a timeout. After the deficit was trimmed to 18-15, the Scarlet and Black closed the contest by taking the next seven points, including a pair of aces by Putt to improve to 2-0 on the weekend.
NEXT UP
The Red Wolves conclude the Skyhawk Invitational Saturday, facing host UT Martin at 1:30 p.m. inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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