FOLEY, Ala. (11/23/24) – Top-seeded Arkansas State volleyball swept East No. 2 seed Georgia Southern 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-23) on Friday night in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, punching the program's ticket to the title match for the first time since 2016.
The Red Wolves (26-4) hit a blistering .336 with 46 kills and just eight attack errors, while knocking down 12 blocks in the win over the Eagles (21-6). A-State's win extended its winning streak to 11 matches, the longest since a 13-match stretch in 2016.
Kaitlin Whitlock recorded a double-double for the third straight match and 15th time this season, tallying 12 kills and 15 digs while hitting .355. Daedrianna Cail had eight kills and a .412 clip, while also knocking down six blocks. Five different players had six or more kills for the Scarlet and Black, including Addison Collum, who hit a team-high .545 with six kills and five blocks. Sarah Martinez led in digs with 15.
A-State owned the opening set and never trailed, pushing its lead out to as much as nine on a kill by Devyn Lewis that made it 21-12. Georgia Southern saved a pair of set points, but Whitlock recorded one of her nine kills in the frame to put the Red Wolves ahead 1-0.
Georgia Southern remained within striking distance in the second set, and led 14-13 on one of Jillian Gray's match-high 24 kills. However, A-State relied upon a 6-0 run to take a 19-14 lead, and later took the final two points in the stanza to take a commanding two-set advantage.
The Red Wolves led by as much as four in the third set following a Cail kill, but the Eagles rallied to knot up the score at 16-all on an attack error. Haley Glunz and Lewis teamed up on a block to make it 20-16, but Georgia Southern moved ahead 22-21 with a 6-1 run. The freshman Collum would spark the match-ending 4-1 run, capped off by a Whitlock kill to clinch the victory.
NEXT UP
A-State now takes on West No. 2 seed Texas State in the championship match of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. First serve from the Foley Event Center is slated for 3 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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