JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/23) – A season-best performance by freshman Kaitlin Whitlock helped the Arkansas State volleyball team to a 3-2 (19-25, 27-25, 25-16, 15-25, 15-20) victory over Marshall to conclude the regular season on Saturday inside First National Bank Arena.

Whitlock tallied 26 kills on 56 swings (.286) with 14 digs and a block to lead A-State (15-13, 5-11 SBC) to the Senior Day win, marking her 12^th double-double of the season. The Thundering Herd (12-18, 4-12) recorded 18 blocks, while the Red Wolves knocked down nine at the net.

Erin Madigan delivered 53 assists and 11 digs while tying for the team lead in blocks (3). Senior Ilayda Dincer notched nine kills and six digs with a solo block, while Brianna Hollingshed accounted for three blocks. Sarah Martinez led in digs with 17, followed by Whitlock and Mia Maloney with 14.

The sides traded leads early in the opening set before a 5-0 run gave the visitors a 20-16 lead following a Brynn Brown ace. Marshall went on to take the set 25-19 to lead 1-0 in the match.

A-State used a five-point run of its own in the second set to take a 10-7 lead after back-to-back Whitlock kills. The set saw 15 ties and six lead changes but the Red Wolves got three straight points to take the 27-25 match-tying second set.

After Marshall secured the first four points of the third set, Arkansas State went on a 9-1 run to take an 8-5 advantage on an ace by Libby Gee-Weiler. The Scarlet and Black would not give up that lead en route to taking a 2-1 lead in the match, winning the set 25-16.
 
Marshall relied on 9-0 surge midway through the fourth set and held off a late push by the Red Wolves to force a fifth set by taking a 25-15 fourth-set decision.
 
The Red Wolves started strong in the second set, taking a 4-0 lead on back-to-back kills by Whitlock. The Thundering Herd pulled to within one at 7-6, but five unanswered pulled A-State to within three points of clinching the match. A Maloney ace set up match point at 14-8, with Dincer clinching the match with a kill three points later.

NEXT UP
Arkansas State now readies for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, beginning Wednesday in Foley, Ala. The Red Wolves are seeded sixth in the West Division and will face East No. 7 seed Georgia State at 2:30 p.m. in Wednesday’s opening round. All tournament matches will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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