Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – Arkansas State volleyball (15-8, 11-1 SBC) withstood strong competition from Troy (13-8, 8-4 SBC) and clinched the Sun Belt West Division title in a 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-9) thriller on Saturday afternoon inside First National Bank Arena.
Calea Bush recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills on a .500 attack percentage and a career-best 10 total blocks including four solos. She became the first Red Wolf to record at least 10 blocks in a match this season and fueled the team to a season high of 17. Devyn Lewis led the Scarlet & Black with 22 kills while Erin Madigan recorded the seventh-most assists by a Sun Belt player in a five-set match this season with 54.
Mia Maloney posted a team-high 18 digs and five Red Wolves totaled 10-plus digs in the match. As a team, A-State totaled 66 kills on a .240 clip and added four service aces alongside 78 digs on the defensive side.
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Set 1
A-State erased an early 4-1 deficit and took the lead on Madigan’s first kill of the match in the 11th rally. The teams remained close through the technical timeout, as a kill by the opposition tied the contest at 15-15, but the Red Wolves would create separation beyond that point. Three errors in the next four rallies created a two-point advantage and Bush extended the lead with a kill plus a solo block.
The Scarlet & Black picked up five of the next six points, and a block by Bush and Collum secured the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set 2
Troy opened an early four-point lead and carried it to a 21-17 score entering the 39th rally. A-State rallied with a 4-0 run fueled by two kills from Whitlock and two team blocks. Momentum stalled as the next two points went against the Red Wolves, and both sides alternated points until a kill for the Trojans evened the match at 1-1.
Set 3
A fast start for the Scarlet & Black faded before Lewis’ 13th and 14th kills of the match fueled a 4-0 run that pushed the lead back to 14-9. The opposition narrowed the gap by one point over the next eight rallies, but Bush’s second solo block of the match started a 3-0 run that created a 21-14 score. Troy countered with a 3-0 run of its own, but A-State negated the effort with another stretch of three consecutive scores to reach set point.
A service error cut the lead to 24-18, but Haley Glunz answered with a kill to secure the set.
Set 4
A 5-1 run for the Trojans put the Red Wolves behind 9-7, and the deficit would last through nearly the entire set. Trailing 22-18, Bush and Collum teamed up for a block and Whitlock followed with a solo before back-to-back attack errors tied the score at 22-22. The rally effort would not be enough, as the opposition added three points in the next four rallies to force one more set.
Set 5
Bush and Collum combined for another block before the former added her ninth and 10th of the match in the following rallies to create a three-point advantage. Bush struck again with a kill in the 13th rally, and Whitlock added another before a set error extended the lead to 10-5. Troy was unable to mount a comeback bid, as the 21st and 22nd kills for Lewis ended the set and the match.
A-State travels to Louisiana Tech for a weekend series on Nov. 6 and 7. The Friday match is scheduled for 6 p.m. and first serve for the Saturday contest is set for 1 p.m. Both matches will stream on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at AStateRedWolves.com/stats.
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