JONESBORO, Ark. (9/5/25) – Arkansas State volleyball (2-2, 0-0 SBC) looked to complete another rally against No. 16 Missouri (3-1, 0-0 SEC) on Friday night at Blazer Arena, but the Red Wolves were unable to hold on in a 3-2 (19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 12-15) defeat.
 
Payton Van Veen led the way with a .310 hitting percentage, posting 11 kills and falling just short of a double-double with nine digs. Devyn Lewis led A-State with 15 kills, while Kaitlin Whitlock recorded her 32nd career double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs.
 
As a team, the Red Wolves tallied 59 kills and nine aces on a .173 percentage.
 
A-State claimed five of the first seven rallies in the opening set after recording four kills and a solo block, but the Tigers quickly closed the gap and tied the contest at 9-9. Eight of the next nine rallies went to the opposition before a kill from Whitlock sparked a 4-0 run.
 
Both sides exchanged 3-0 runs before the Tigers claimed five of the final six points to claim a 1-0 advantage (25-19).
 
Trailing 11-5 in the second set, Whitlock powered the Scarlet and Black to a 4-0 run with a kill and two service aces while an attack error rounded out the effort. A kill for Mizzou gave way to another 4-0 run for A-State, making the score 13-12 in favor of the latter.
 
Neither side opened a significant advantage until kills from Devyn Lewis and Valeria Ortiz paired with an attack error pushed the Red Wolves ahead in what would become a 25-21 decision.
 
A-State closed the gap to 7-6 before the Tigers claimed nine of the next 10 rallies to secure a 16-7 advantage. The deficit was cut down to five before the opposition secured a 25-18 decision in the third set.
 
The Scarlet and Black responded immediately with the largest scoring run of the evening, opening a 7-0 advantage to force a timeout. Missouri battled back and cut the lead to 23-21, but kills from Whitlock and Addison Collum closed the door on a rally and forced the second five-set match in as many days.
 
The final set went back-and-forth in the first 11 rallies, but a 3-0 scoring run highlighted by two kills from Lewis opened a two-point advantage. Leading 10-8, the Red Wolves surrendered a critical 4-0 scoring run before tying the contest at 12-12.
 
A-State dropped the final three rallies, ending the chances of back-to-back wins versus a nationally ranked opponent.
 
NEXT UP
A-State returns to action on Friday, Sept. 12, at 10:00 a.m. against Florida Atlantic at the UCF Invitational. The match can be viewed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on AStateRedWolves.com/stats.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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