JONESBORO, Ark. (10/25/24) – Another strong defensive night combined with a dynamic offensive performance propelled the Arkansas State volleyball team to another 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 20-25, 23-25, 15-7) victory over Troy Friday inside First National Bank Arena.
The Red Wolves (18-4, 8-2 SBC) remained unblemished at home (9-0), knocking down 16 blocks and limiting the Trojans (8-12, 3-7) to a .179 attack percentage. Daedrianna Cail led the way with another double-digit blocks night, totaling 10 to give her 22 for the week and making her the first Red Wolf with 10 or more blocks in back-to-back matches since before 2010.
Offensively, A-State hit .253 led by Kaitlin Whitlock's double-double performance of a season-high 22 kills and 18 digs. Whitlock hit .302 while also recording a pair of blocks. Erin Madigan doled out a season-high 51 assists and added eight digs with three blocks on the defensive end.
Defensively, Sarah Martinez corralled 21 digs, while Grace Wiley recorded career highs in digs (9) and blocks (7).
A-State scored the first six points of the first set and never trailed, leading by as much as eight. Whitlock recorded seven kills while the Red Wolves limited Troy to a .174 clip en route to winning 25-17 in the opener.
The Scarlet and Black again got off to a hot start, taking the first four points with three aces by Libby Gee-Weiler, who had four in the contest. Back-to-back blocks by Cail and Wiley capped a 4-0 run to make it 20-13, before Tori Hester halted the run with one of her 19 kills. Later, Yazmyn Billings and Madigan teamed up on a block to clinch the second set, 25-17.
Troy used a 5-0 run capped by a Sara Bates ace to put the Trojans ahead 9-5 to open the third set. A-State would pull within two, but the visitors held on to extend the match with a 25-20 set victory.
The Trojans again jumped out to a quick advantage in the fourth, leading 6-0 before an early A-State timeout. The Red Wolves would take a 12-10 lead on an ace by Mia Maloney, but Troy reclaimed a 22-19 lead with a 5-0 run. After A-State knotted it up at 23-all on a Madigan kill, Hester and Ashlynn Axtell paired up two points later for a block to send the match to a fifth set, giving the Trojans the 25-23 set-four victory.
In the fifth, Troy surged to a quick 4-1 lead, but A-State answered with four unanswered points following a timeout to lead 5-4. The Trojans would tie up the set at 6, but the Red Wolves closed on a 9-1 run sparked by one of Billings' season-high 10 kills to clinch the match, winning the frame 15-7.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State faces another road test next weekend, traveling to Louisiana for matches Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.). Both matches at Earl K. Long Gym will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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