Photo by Ibuki Hinohara | Photo Editor

The Arkansas State volleyball team got punched in the face early, but overcame adversity to beat conference rival Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. 

The Red Wolves won against the Golden Eagles at home Oct. 3 for their second in-conference matchup of the season. Right side hitter Addison Collum capitalized everywhere, leading the team with 15 total kills. Middle blocker Daedrianna Cail provided 11 kills and nine blocks and Kailtin Whitlock almost joined the group with double kills, providing 9. 

It was a big night for Arkansas State’s outside hitter Kailtin Whitlock. She achieved 900 career digs for herself and posted a career high with 24 alone in this game.

As a team, A-State posted 57 kills on 178 attempts with a .180 hitting percentage on the night. A-State kept a cleaner game than Southern Miss, only posting 25 errors in comparison to the Eagles’ 32. The Eagles trailed the Red Wolves in hits with 42 on an even number of attempts with 178 as well.

The game went back and forth for the majority of the night. One team would go down and the other would call a timeout, regroup and claw back. Eventually, something clicked for A-State in the fourth set, and the team went on a resurgence, battling back down from 5-0 and claiming 9 of the next 12 rallies to even the score at 17 apiece. 

The back end of the doubleheader did not go as planned for Arkansas State. A-State took the Southern Miss Eagles to a 5th set, but could not finish the job. 

Arkansas State standout Whitlock provided the Red Wolves with 13 digs and 18 out of the team’s total 59 kills. Cail and outside hitter Payton Van Veen recorded four blocks apiece, tying for a team high for the game. 

Arkansas State dominated the game early. The moment quickly shifted into the Golden Eagles’ favor in the second set. Southern Miss’s outside hitter Sadie McAda posted a game-high 21 kills on the night. The Lady Eagles’ setter Gaby Zovko gave her team 42 assists on the night alone. 

Arkansas State and Southern Miss split this series. This is the Red Wolves’ second straight split during in-conference play against both Georgia State and Southern Miss. 

A-State’s next game is 6:00 p.m. against UL Monroe in Monroe. This Sun Belt matchup could shift the trajectory of the season moving forward. 

Categories: Sports