Statesboro, GA – Contributed – Arkansas State volleyball (11-8, 7-1 SBC) is off to the best start in conference play since 2016 following a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 26-24) victory over Georgia Southern (13-7, 5-3 SBC) on Saturday afternoon inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
Addison Collum followed a career-best performance last night with a team-leading 18 kills on a .385 percentage and totaled eight digs and a block. Kaitlin Whitlock picked up 13 kills alongside a team-high 21 digs for her ninth double-double of the season while Erin Madigan posted 38 assists and 16 digs for her fifth. As a team, A-State landed 54 kills on a .280 clip and tallied 68 digs alongside three total blocks.
The last time the Red Wolves opened conference play 7-1 or better was in 2016, when David Rehr’s team finished with a 15-1 league record and a share of the regular season title. A-State is the first Sun Belt team to sweep the Eagles inside Hanner Fieldhouse since James Madison on Oct. 29, 2022.
Set 1
Collum highlighted the Red Wolves’ first-set effort with eight kills on a .571 percentage, and two of them created a gap on the scoreboard that would last for the remainder of the set. Whitlock extended the lead to three at the technical timeout and A-State added two more points after the break to make the score 17-12. The Eagles made a push following a solo block from Calea Bush, using a 3-0 run to narrow the gap to 20-18.
Three consecutive points, including back-to-back kills from Lewis plus another from Collum, kept the opposition in check. The Scarlet & Black surrendered one kill beyond that point while Madigan clinched the set on her first kill of the contest.
Set 2
Georgia Southern raced to a 5-1 lead, but A-State quickly flipped the script by taking eight of the next nine rallies. The lead narrowed to one point before a 5-0 run highlighted by a kill from Collum plus a service ace by Madigan made the score 15-9. The Red Wolves continued to build on the advantage, opening a 23-15 gap before Whitlock ended the set at 25-17 following a kill.
Set 3
A-State trailed 18-12 when momentum began to shift away from the opposition. Both sides exchanged the next six points, but Whitlock’s second kill of the set sparked a 5-0 stretch that put the Red Wolves one point away from a tie. Georgia Southern countered the rally effort with three of the next four points before kills from Whitlock and Collum plus a block forced the first tie since the 16th rally.
Collum recorded her second consecutive kill to push the Red Wolves in front, and Glunz secured the set and the match with another.
The Scarlet & Black travel to Southern Miss for a series on Oct. 22 and 23 inside the Southern Miss Wellness Center. Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+, while live stats will be available at AStateRedWolves.com/stats.
A-State returns to Jonesboro for a series against Troy on Oct. 30 and 31 inside First National Bank Arena. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
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