STATESBORO, Ga. (9/23/23) – Four players recorded 10 or more kills on Saturday afternoon, as the Arkansas State volleyball team earned a 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 25-23) victory over Georgia Southern inside Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Red Wolves (11-3, 1-1 SBC) avenged a three-set loss Friday night and halted the Eagles’ (11-2, 1-1) six-match winning streak, while also handing them their first home loss of the season.

A-State’s offensive success flowed through its middle blockers, Yazmyn Billings and Haley Glunz, who combined for 26 kills on the day to just three attack errors. Billings led the team with 15 kills on 28 swings, committing one miscue (.500), while Glunz registered 11 kills and just two errors on 25 attempts (.360).

Kaitlin Whitlock recorded her team-leading sixth double-double of the year with 11 kills and 11 digs, while Erin Madigan doled out 48 assists and served two of the Red Wolves seven aces. Mia Maloney also served two aces in the match to go along with eight digs. Ilayda Dincer also tallied a season-high 13 kills.

Sarah Martinez corralled a team-high 14 digs on defense, while Glunz added three blocks (two solo) to help limit the Eagles to a .138 clip in the final two frames.

The opening set featured five ties and four lead changes, with A-State moving ahead 14-12 on a kill by Whitlock – one of her five in the set. The Eagles pulled within two, but Madigan connected with Billings, who knocked down the kill to clinch the set win.

Georgia Southern did not trail in the second set and led by as much as eight until a kill by Reagan Barth knotted up the match at a set apiece.

A-State bounced back in the third set, setting its middles consistently as Billings and Glunz accounted for eight of the team’s 14 kills in the frame. A 4-0 run put the Red Wolves ahead 16-11 before the Eagles pulled within two points later in the stanza at 23-21. Three points later, Madigan dumped over a kill to seal a 2-1 lead in the contest.

The hosts surged to a 5-0 lead to open the fourth set, but the Red Wolves pulled even at 13 on an ace by Libby Gee-Weiler. Another ace by Maloney pushed A-State ahead 15-14, and the Scarlet and Black would not fall behind the rest of the match. Maddie Wiersema later knocked down a solo block before kills by Whitlock and Billings clinched the match.

NEXT UP

Arkansas State returns home for the first time since August next week, hosting Louisiana Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.).

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