ORLANDO, Fla. (9/12/25) – Arkansas State volleyball (4-5, 0-0 SBC) faced Florida Atlantic (6-3, 0-0 AC) and UCF (6-1, 0-0 Big 12) in the first day of the UCF Invitational, defeating the former 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-17) before falling to the latter 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-18) on Thursday inside The Venue.
 
MATCH 1
Daedrianna Cail led the Red Wolves with eight kills and three service aces on a .357 hitting percentage versus the Owls. Kaitlin Whitlock and Devyn Lewis matched the team high for kills while Haley Glunz fell one short on a team-leading .500 clip.
 
As a team, A-State tallied 42 kills and eight service aces on a .380 percentage while tallying 39 digs and five blocks on the defensive side. Florida Atlantic was limited to 22 kills on a .035 percentage and did not record a service ace in the contest.
 
The match began with a kill from Cail, sparking a 6-2 run consisting of two attack errors along with a service ace from Mia Maloney and a kill from Whitlock. The lead was cut to five before the Scarlet and Black claimed seven of the next eight rallies and opened a 17-6 advantage.
 
The first set ended when Addison Collum and Valeria Ortiz notched back-to-back kills, resulting in a 25-13 decision.
 
A-State built on the momentum from the first set by jumping out to a 7-1 lead bookended by two kills and service aces from Whitlock. Following the second point for the Owls, the Red Wolves went on an 8-0 scoring run capped by a pair of service aces from Cail.
 
Florida Atlantic claimed five of the final 10 rallies, but the lead was too much as a 25-10 score moved the match into the next set.
 
The Red Wolves did not lead in the third set until kills from Cail and Lewis paired with back-to-back attack errors established an 18-16 advantage. Both sides split the next two sets before a 6-0 scoring run pushed A-State to a 25-17 decision that secured the sweep.
 
MATCH 2
Whitlock led A-State with nine kills and Cail recorded a team-high three blocks while Glunz led the team with a .556 percentage on five kills. As a team, the Red Wolves posted 32 kills on a .108 attack percentage.
 
UCF opened the match on a 5-0 run before Whitlock recorded a kill and broke the scoreless stretch. The deficit swelled to seven before the Red Wolves used a 3-0 scoring run to close the gap to 17-12. The Knights claimed eight of the next 12 rallies to move ahead 1-0 on a 25-16 decision.
 
The second set saw both sides evenly exchange points over the first 18 rallies before a service error followed by a service ace from Mia Maloney gave A-State a two-point advantage. A kill from Payton Van Veen and a solo block for Whitlock sparked a 4-0 scoring run that resulted in a 16-11 lead, but the Knights took nine of the next 13 rallies to tie the set.
 
A-State dropped five of the next eight rallies and fell behind 2-0, as UCF claimed the set 25-23.
 
The Scarlet and Black fell behind 3-0 to start the third set, but battled back to claim a 12-8 lead after a kill from Glunz sparked a 4-0 run. The gap eventually closed as the Knights won nine of the next 13 rallies to claim a 17-16 advantage.
 
The Red Wolves won two more rallies beyond that point, falling 25-18 as UCF sealed a 3-0 defeat.
 
NEXT UP
A-State faces Brown in their final match at the UCF Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 11:00 a.m. inside The Venue. The match can be viewed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on AStateRedWolves.com/stats.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@AStateVB) and Instagram (astatevb) along with liking the Arkansas State Red Wolves Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.