HATTIESBURG, Miss. (10/4/24) – Arkansas State volleyball held a two-set lead, but Southern Miss stormed back to take a 3-2 (22-25, 14-25, 31-29, 25-22, 15-13) win Friday night inside the Southern Miss Wellness Center.
A-State (13-3, 3-1 SBC) saw its five-match winning streak snapped in the contest, while the Golden Eagles (7-9, 3-1) tallied 10 blocks. The Red Wolves totaled 101 digs, the most since 125 in a four-set match at UT Arlington in 2020.
Three Red Wolves had 13 kills or more, led by Kaitlin Whitlock's 18 kills. The sophomore also had 12 digs for her 20th career double-double. Grace Wiley added 17 kills and a .333 clip, while Daedrianna Cail tallied 13 kills (.344) and a team-high five blocks.
Defensively, three players had 20-plus digs, led by 27 from Sarah Martinez. Erin Madigan corralled a career-best 23 to go along with 35 assists, and Mia Maloney had 20.
A-State owned an early lead in the opening set before the hosts claimed an 18-16 advantage on a kill by Aysu Dalogullari – one of her match-high 25. The Red Wolves answered with a 6-1 run capped by a Whitlock kill, putting the score at 23-19. Following a Golden Eagles side-out, Wiley notched a kill to make it set point at 24-20, but USM saved a pair of points to pull within two. Whitlock then clinched the 25-22 first-set victory with a kill – her fifth of the frame.
The Scarlet and Black never trailed in the second set, committing just one attack error to 15 kills for a .467 clip. A-State surged out to a 5-0 lead and pushed its lead out to double figures when a Haley Glunz kill made it 20-10. Wiley later clinched the set, giving the Red Wolves a commanding two-set advantage.
A-State looked to close out the match in the third set, leading by as much as seven before the Golden Eagles clawed back to tie it at 24-all. The teams traded points until USM got kills by Sadie McAda and Dalogullari to extend the match with a 31-29 win in Set 3.
In the fourth set, Southern Miss used a 6-0 run midway through the frame to take an 18-13 lead on a block by Madison Baldridge and Franky Panunzio. The Golden Eagles later reached set point with a 24-18 lead, but A-State clawed back with four points in a row to pull within two. A service error then sent the match into the fifth set, giving USM a 25-22 win in the stanza.
The Red Wolves mounted to an early three-point lead in the fifth set, but USM battled back to tie it. A-State then later used a 3-0 run to take a 13-10 lead, with the Golden Eagles rallying with five straight points to win the match.
NEXT UP
A-State returns home for its next two matches, hosting ULM Friday-Saturday, Oct. 11-12. First serve versus the Warhawks is set for 6 p.m. (Friday) and 1 p.m. (Saturday), with both matches broadcasted live on ESPN Plus.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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