Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Arkansas State volleyball (18-8, 14-1 SBC) secured an outright claim to the 19th Sun Belt Conference Championship in program history Friday night inside First National Bank Arena, defeating James Madison (12-13, 7-8 SBC) in a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-21) decision.
Addison Collum posted a team-best 18 kills on a .381 attack percentage and Kaitlin Whitlock reached double figures with 12 kills. Erin Madigan led the team with 37 assists and 11 digs to record her eighth double-double of the season. As a team, A-State landed 50 kills on a .336 clip and totaled three service aces, 47 assists, 46 digs and two total blocks.
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Set 1
A hotly contested first set established the tempo that would remain for the entire match as the teams entered the 37th rally in an 18-18 tie. Collum and Calea Bush capped a 4-0 run with back-to-back kills to make the score 21-18, but the Dukes battled back and narrowed the gap to one point over the next four rallies. Whitlock stopped the run with a kill and Collum followed with her fifth to force set point.
A service error kept the set in play for one more rally, but the opposition returned the favor as the Red Wolves moved ahead 1-0 in the match.
Set 2
James Madison looked to even the match after opening an 8-1 lead, but A-State chipped away at the deficit and eventually used a 5-0 run to force a lead change. Neither side could gain the upper hand as more lead changes occurred before a 22-22 tie was reached. The Red Wolves were unable to take set point while ahead 24-23, but Collum countered a kill for the Dukes with one of her own and Madigan followed with one more to put the Scarlet & Black one set away from victory.
Set 3
Both sides remained within two points of each other throughout the third set, and the lead changed hands six times before the Red Wolves gained a significant advantage. Lewis and Collum posted back-to-back kills to make the score 22-19 while an attack error extended the lead to four points. The opposition made one final comeback effort with back-to-back kills, but Whitlock negated the effort with two of her own and secured the match.
A-State concludes the 2026 regular season against James Madison on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 12 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena. The match will stream on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at AStateRedWolves.com/stats. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
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