BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (9/4/26) – Arkansas State volleyball (2-3, 0-0 SBC) competed in nine nearly consecutive sets on Friday afternoon inside the Stroh Center and secured a 3-2 (25-23, 29-31, 25-17, 22-25, 15-8) win over Bowling Green (3-1, 0-0 MAC) alongside a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-20) victory over Northern Kentucky (1-4, 0-0 Horizon).
Calea Bush shined in the matchup against the Falcons, posting a team-high 16 kills on a .483 hitting percentage alongside three block assists.
Addison Collum led the team with one solo block and five block assists while
Haley Glunz posted a team and career best four service aces.
Mia Maloney ended the match with 25 digs to lead A-State. As a team the Red Wolves recorded 74 kills on a .263 hitting percentage and tallied 82 digs alongside 10.0 total blocks.
Against Northern Kentucky,
Kaitlin Whitlock led the team with 17 kills and Maloney secured a team-high 26 digs while Bush and Glunz tied for the team lead in total blocks with 4.0 apiece. The Red Wolves recorded 63 kills on a .235 hitting percentage and posted 82 digs alongside 13.0 total blocks.
Match 1, Set 1
The Red Wolves opened an 8-3 lead early in the set and Whitlock stonewalled the opposition's response with a kill that sparked a 5-1 run and turned a two-rally lead into a 15-9 advantage. Momentum shifted to the Falcons' favor following the technical timeout, as the opposition cut the lead down to one rally.
Bowling Green tied the set at 22-22, and after both sides added a rally to the scoreboard, Bush landed a kill while Collum closed the door with a solo block to secure a 25-23 decision.
Match 1, Set 2
A 3-0 run against A-State broke a 9-9 tie and allowed the opposition to have the upper hand throughout the set. The Red Wolves closed the gap to one rally, but both sides would evenly alternate the next 14 that followed as the score reached 21-20.
Bowling Green broke the trend by capitalizing on an attack error with a kill and created a three-rally gap.
The Scarlet & Black responded with a 3-0 run that tied the set, and
Devyn Lewis helped A-State rebound from a service error by landing a kill to force extra points. Neither side could break away until back-to-back kills from the Falcons broke a 29-29 tie and ended the set.
Match 1, Set 3
A-State's 7-3 advantage would be erased as the opposition narrowed the gap to 10-9. When the set was tied at 11-11, A-State countered with an 8-0 run capped by Bush's 12th kill of the match.
The lead maxed out at 23-14, and following three kills over the next four rallies by the opposition, Glunz secured the set in a 25-17 decision with one of her own.
Match 1, Set 4
Both sides exchanged 5-1 runs to open the set and had little separation over the next 14 rallies. The Falcons opened a three-rally advantage that eventually maxed out at 19-15 before four consecutive kills from the Scarlet & Black, including two from Whitlock, tied it up.
The two programs exchanged an attack error plus a kill before Bowling Green moved ahead 24-21 via a 3-0 run. Glunz landed a kill, but the rally effort fell short as a 25-22 decision forced the match into a fifth set.
Match 1, Set 5
The Red Wolves jumped out to a 7-3 lead once again, and in this set it would not be surrendered. The Falcons were unable to narrow the gap to three rallies or less, and kills by Collum and Glunz paired with block assists from the duo secured the set at 15-8 and ended the match.
Match 2, Set 1
Roughly 30 minutes following the five-set thriller, the Red Wolves started their second match of the day. A-State trailed early in the set, but a run of four consecutive kills highlighted by back-to-back points from Bush created a 15-13 advantage.
Both sides remained within one rally of a tie or the lead, but back-to-back kills from the Norse created a 22-20 gap. The Red Wolves were unable to catch up beyond that point as the opposition took the set by a score of 25-22.
Match 2, Set 2
Neither team held a lead larger than one rally until two kills from
Parker Stearns paired with another from Whitlock opened a 15-12 lead. Northern Kentucky closed the gap to two multiple times, but kills from Collum stonewalled the efforts.
The Scarlet & Black took control after moving ahead 22-18, as a kill from Lewis paired with a bad set allowed Whitlock's kill to even the match with a 25-20 set win.
Match 2, Set 3
A-State surged to a 13-6 lead powered by kills from five Red Wolves and took a six-rally advantage into the technical timeout. Momentum remained in A-State's favor until the 36th rally of the set, when a kill for the opposition sparked a 7-0 run that resulted in a lead change.
Trailing 22-20, Whitlock landed a kill and an attack error by the Norse tied the set. The Red Wolves faced extra points for the second time in the doubleheader, and the result would be different as a kill from Glunz plus an attack error resulted in a 27-25 score and a lead in the match.
Match 2, Set 4
A-State created separation in the 19th rally, and took five of the following seven rallies to claim a 15-11 lead. The advantage swelled to six after a 4-0 run highlighted by three kills from Whitlock made the score 19-13.
Northern Kentucky's last attempt to close the gap fell short at four rallies as the Red Wolves completed the marathon day with a 25-20 set win to secure the match.
Next Up
A-State completes action at the Best Western Invitational on Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. (CT) versus American.
The Scarlet & Black's first home matchup is slated for Sept. 18 versus Arkansas. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena, and tickets can be purchased by clicking
here.
Social Media
Fans can follow the team on X (@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.
