JONESBORO, Ark. (10/20/23) – Four players recorded double-digit kills on Friday night, but the Arkansas State volleyball team ultimately dropped a hard-fought 3-2 (19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12) decision to Southern Miss inside First National Bank Arena.

Tegan Seyring recorded a team-high 18 kills on 37 attacks (.405), matching her career best to lead the Red Wolves (12-10, 2-8 SBC), while the Golden Eagles (8-13, 3-7) found success from behind the service line with 14 aces on the night. The Yorktown, Ind., native owned a .410 clip in the series with 30 kills (3.75 per set).

In addition to Seyring, Ilayda Dincer scored a season-high 14 kills with a career-high 13 digs. Kaitlin Whitlock added 12 kills and 16 digs – her ninth double-double of the year – to go along with three blocks. Yazmyn Billings knocked down 11 kills on a .400 clip while tallying six blocks.

Erin Madigan guided the A-State offense, which hit .293 on the night, with 54 assists. Defensively, Haley Glunz aided Billings at the net with five blocks, helping the Scarlet and Black limit USM to a .185 mark.

Southern Miss took early control in the opening set and led 13-10 following one of Mia Wesley’s match-high 24 kills. A-State then stormed to a 20-15 lead with a 10-2 run before the Golden Eagles pulled within two on a Wesley ace. The Red Wolves regained momentum after the ace, taking five of the last six points to lead 1-0 in the match.

Libby Gee-Weiler opened the second set behind the service line and fired a pair of aces in A-State’s 8-0 run to start the frame. The Red Wolves never trailed and led by as much as 10 en route to capturing the second set.

The visitors answered in the third set with a 7-2 run to open the stanza before a Billings kill capped a 10-3 stretch that gave A-State a 12-10 edge. Following a kill by Dincer, which made it 22-21 and forced a USM timeout, the Golden Eagles rallied for four of the next five points to extend the match with a 25-23 victory in the third.

Southern Miss again took an early lead to start the fourth set, leading 4-1, but A-State battled back to retake the lead and expand it to 13-7. The Golden Eagles pulled within one at 20-19 on a kill by Wesley before a Red Wolves side-out, but continued its momentum to send the contest to a deciding fifth set.

The Red Wolves roared out of the set break and took the first three points on kills by Seyring and Whitlock, but three kills by Wesley and a Cara Atkinson ace trimmed the margin to 5-4. A-State was first to the 10-point mark after a Dincer kill before USM knotted up the set at 11-all. After Seyring’s final kill made it 12-11 A-State, Southern Miss scored four straight to clinch the match.

NEXT UP

A-State continues its four-match home stand Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28, hosting Texas State. First serve against the Bobcats is slated for 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday inside First National Bank Arena, and both matches will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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