Outside hitter Kaitlin Whitlock celebrates a kill with her team

PHOTO COURTESY OF A-STATE ATHLETICS

This past weekend, the Arkansas State Red Wolves (16-4, 4-2 SBC) took on the Texas State Bobcats (11-8, 5-3 SBC) and left with one win and one loss for the series. The Red Wolves lost 3-0 in the first game but won 3-1 in the second.

In the first set of Friday’s game, the score was back and forth with the Red Wolves ahead late in the game at 21-19 before the Bobcats scored four unanswered points, taking the lead back and soon winning the first set 25-23. 

The first set ended with 11 kills, 3 errors, 30 total attempts and a hitting percentage of .267. The Red Wolves managed to record three aces in the first set, two by libero Sarah Martinez and one by middle blocker Daedrianna Cail. 

The second set started off close but soon the Bobcats took the lead and kept the lead anytime the Red Wolves would score. The score was 20-17 Texas State after a point from Arkansas State before the Bobcats went on another unanswered scoring run, winning the second set 25-17, a less competitive set than the first. 

Even though the score was closer in the first set, Arkansas State’s stats were better in the second. The Red Wolves recorded 13 kills, 3 errors, 38 total attempts and a .263 hitting percentage. 

The Red Wolves started off hot in the third set, beating the Bobcats 10-6 until Texas State scored four unanswered points, tying up the game at 10-10. Texas State soon went ahead of Arkansas State at 17-12. The Red Wolves did manage to make the set competitive, but ultimately lost the third and final set 25-20.

The Red Wolves managed to record 15 kills, 7 errors, 39 total attempts and a .205 hitting percentage as a team. Arkansas State finished the game with 39 kills, 13 errors, 107 total attempts and a hitting percentage of . 243. 

Outside hitter Grace Wiley led the Red Wolves in kills during the game with 10. The only aces by the Red Wolves in the game were recorded by Sarah Martinez and Daedrianna Cail in the first set. Cail Daedrianna had the most blocks for the Red Wolves with 5. Setter Erin Madigan had the most assists for Arkansas State with 18. Sarah Martinez had 19 digs combined during the three sets.

Saturday, the game started off like Friday’s, the Bobcats taking the first set after leading the whole time, taking the first set of the game 25-19.

The Red Wolves finished the first set of the second game with 8 kills, 7 errors, 39 total attempts and a .026 hitting percentage. Libero Mia Maloney served two aces during the set. 

The second set started with a service ace by Mia Maloney and the Red Wolves soon led 15-5 before the Bobcats scored five in a row to close the gap to 15-10. Arkansas State kept their lead in the set, winning their first set of the series 25-17.

Arkansas State’s first set win against the Bobcats resulted in 12 kills, 5 errors, 33 total attempts and a .212 hitting percentage. On top of Mia Maloney’s first serve of the set being an ace, setter Valeria Ortiz also recorded an ace during the set. 

The third set was close until the middle of the set when the Red Wolves scored eight in a row, making the score 22-13 instead of the 14-13 it was before the run. Arkansas State soon took the third set with a score of 25-15.

The third set had the Red Wolves record 12 kills, 2 errors, 29 total attempts and a hitting percentage of .286. Sarah Martinez served an ace during the set. 

The fourth and final set of the game was another back and forth set until the Red Wolves managed to score five in a row to give A-State a 17-13 lead. This was the momentum Arkansas State needed to finish the game because one play later, they had another unanswered scoring run which finished the set and the game, winning 25-14. 

The Red Wolves finished the fourth set with 13 kills, 2 errors, 29 total attempts and .379 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Haley Glunz served an ace in this set. In total, Arkansas State had 45 kills, 16 errors, 136 total attempts and a hitting percentage of . 213 during the game. 

Outside hitter Kaitlin Whitlock had the most kills in the game with 13. Mia Maloney served the most amount of aces during the game with 3. Daedrianna Cail and Haley Glunz both tied for the most blocks in the game. Valeria Ortiz had the most assists for Arkansas State with 19 and Sarah Martinez had the most digs at 17. 

The Red Wolves leave Texas with a series tie and are headed home to face the Troy Trojans (8-10, 3-3 SBC) on Thursday and Friday. 

Categories: Sports