FLORENCE, Ala. (9/13/24) – Arkansas State volleyball improved to 7-1 for the first time since its historic 2015 season, picking up a pair of wins on Friday at the UNA Invitational.
The Red Wolves opened the twin bill with a 3-1 win over host North Alabama before battling back from two sets down to defeat Jacksonville State in reverse-sweep fashion, 3-2, in the second match of the day.
A-State's two victories extended its winning streak to a season-best four matches. In Friday's two matches, the Red Wolves limited their foes to a .128 hitting percentage while averaging 17.56 digs per set.
MATCH 1 – ARKANSAS STATE 3, NORTH ALABAMA 1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-22)
A dominant performance by Grace Wiley and stellar defense led Arkansas State to its first 6-1 start since 2015 in a 3-1 win over host North Alabama in the opening match of the UNA Invitational.
Wiley piled up a career-high 21 kills on 48 swings (.292) to lead all players, while Haley Glunz added a career-best 13 kills without an error to hit .684. Four players had eight or more kills, with Kaitlin Whitlock and Addison Collum each tallying eight. Defensively, A-State (6-1) corralled 87 digs and held the Lions (3-5) to a .154 clip.
Five Red Wolves had 10-plus digs in the match, led by Sarah Martinez's fifth consecutive match with 20 or more digs (20). Whitlock added 18 and Erin Madigan added 13 along with 25 assists for her third straight double-double. Valeria Ortiz notched her first career double-dip with 21 assists and 11 digs, while Mia Maloney had 10 digs.
A-State scored the match's first four points en route to building a 7-2 lead on a solo block by Whitlock, but the Lions clawed back to lead 16-12. After a block by Collum and Glunz cut the deficit to 18-17, an ace capped a 4-1 UNA run and forced a timeout. The hosts would clinch the 25-20 opening-set win on an ace by Kinslee McGowan to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Red Wolves broke a 3-all tie in the second set on a service error and kill by Glunz before expanding their lead to 16-7 on one of Wiley's seven kills in the set. A-State continued to maintain momentum, as Wiley notched her 10th kill of the match to clinch the set and even the contest.
North Alabama held an early advantage in the third set, but the Scarlet and Black went on a 5-0 run to lead 15-12 after a Collum kill. After the hosts reclaimed a 20-19 lead, Whitlock capped a 4-0 A-State scoring run to make it 23-20, and then Collum answered a UNA point with back-to-back kills to give the Red Wolves a 2-1 lead.
A-State carried that momentum into the fourth set, taking the first five points and never trailing on the way to sealing the victory. The Red Wolves' largest lead of the set came when Whitlock knocked down a kill to make it 13-7 and force UNA to use its final timeout. The Lions, however, did not go away quietly as they pulled within two (22-20), but A-State would close out the set and match with the 25-22 fourth-set win.
MATCH 2 – ARKANSAS STATE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-7)
In the second match of the day, Arkansas State faced a two-set deficit but battled back to complete the reverse sweep in a five-set victory over Jacksonville State.
Three players recorded double-digit kills for the Red Wolves (7-1), led by Devyn Lewis' 14 kills and .297 attack percentage. Grace Wiley added 13 kills and four blocks, while Kaitlin Whitlock registered a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
Daedrianna Cail was a force at the net, adding a season-high eight blocks (2 solos) to nine kills. Sarah Martinez was once again the team's digs leader with 19, while Madigan added 16 with 23 assists for her fourth consecutive double-double.
Offensively, A-State was stellar from the service line, firing 10 aces, and hit .164 as a squad - .292 in the final three sets while limiting the Gamecocks to a .048 attack percentage in those frames. Haley Glunz had a match-high four aces, while Valeria Ortiz served three along with 18 assists.
In a back-and-forth opening set, Jacksonville State rallied from a 17-13 deficit to take a 23-21 lead. Whitlock and Addison Collum recorded back-to-back kills to tie it at 23, but the Gamecocks followed a timeout with back-to-back points to take a close 25-23 decision and lead 1-0 in the match.
The Red Wolves claimed an early lead in the second set, but JSU used a 4-0 run with Caty Havekost scoring the go-ahead point on a kill. A-State faced a margin as large as seven and pulled within two, but the Gamecocks held on for the 25-22 win to take a commanding two-set advantage.
Eight ties and six lead changes occurred in the third set, which saw A-State pull ahead 15-12 on a solo block by Glunz. JSU would only score three more points the rest of the frame, as the Scarlet and Black scored nine unanswered to end the set and extend the match, winning 25-15.
Both sides held multiple leads in the fourth set, but the tide turned when a service error sparked a 6-0 Red Wolves run to make it 21-16. Jacksonville State cut the deficit down to two at 23-21, but two more costly miscues forced a match-deciding fifth set as A-State won the fourth, 25-21.
Trailing 4-3, A-State stormed ahead with a 6-0 run capped by a Wiley kill. Wiley later teamed up with Cail to make it 11-5 before JSU answered with two more points. Cail then knocked down a kill to side-out and spark a match-clinching 4-0 run, sealed with one of Ortiz's three aces.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State puts its winning streak on the line Saturday, taking on UAB in its UNA Invitational finale. First serve in Florence is set for noon.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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