JONESBORO, Ark. (11/9/24) – Arkansas State volleyball sealed its first Sun Belt Conference West Division title since 2016 on Saturday, topping South Alabama 3-1 (28-26, 17-25, 25-17, 25-18) to complete the weekend sweep inside First National Bank Arena.
The Red Wolves (22-4, 12-2 SBC) also finished the season unbeaten at home for the first time since the 2015 campaign and extended their home winning streak to 13 dating back to last season with the win over the Jaguars (14-10, 10-4). A-State's win marked its seventh straight, the longest since a seven-match winning streak in 2017.
Kaitlin Whitlock was one of three A-State attackers with 10 or more kills, leading the way with 16 in addition to 18 digs and three blocks. Grace Wiley added 15 kills while Devyn Lewis had 11.
The Scarlet and Black hit .164 as a squad, while limiting the high-powered Jaguars to a .152 mark. Erin Madigan had 41 assists and 16 digs in addition to a team-high five blocks, while Daedrianna Cail tacked on four blocks.
Sarah Martinez once again dominated the back row from the libero spot, corralling 27 digs on the day.
Much like Friday night's bout, the opening set went into extra points with both sides saving multiple set points. Whitlock had seven of her 16 kills in the first set alone, helping A-State to a 28-26 win in the frame.
South Alabama answered by never trailing in the second set to even that match at a set apiece. The Jaguars hit .400 while limiting the Red Wolves to just .139, winning the stanza 25-17.
A-State returned the favor in the third set, surging out to an early 8-3 lead following a Whitlock kill. The Red Wolves' lead ballooned to 21-10 following back-to-back attack errors, and then they survived a 6-0 USA run to close the set on a 4-1 run capped by two kills from Lewis to lead 2-1 in the contest.
The Red Wolves relied on an early 4-0 run to take a 7-4 lead in the fourth set – an advantage that the Jaguars could never surmount. Madigan and Haley Glunz later teamed up on a block to push the lead to 12-7, and then A-State led by as much as eight after a Madigan solo block to make it 21-13. The senior Wiley would go on to clinch the 25-18 set victory, and vaulting her team to the West Division's No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament (Nov. 21-24).
NEXT UP
Arkansas State has one final road test before postseason play, traveling to Old Dominion for matches on Thursday and Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Both matches in Norfolk will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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