Red Wolves fall to Texas State in SBC championship game
Marion alum Cail has big game in A-State loss
From Arkansas State University
astateredwolves.com
FOLEY, Ala. (11/24/24) – Top-seeded Arkansas State volleyball dropped a 3-0 (1925, 23-25, 20-25) decision to West No. 2 seed Texas State on Sunday afternoon in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title match.
The Red Wolves (26-5) were limited to just .128 on the attack, while the Bobcats (22-8) knocked down 10 blocks in the match. Kaitlin Whitlock and Sarah Martinez earned All-Tournament honors after the contest. Whitlock averaged 4.00 kills per set in three matches, while Martinez corralled 5.09 digs per set.
Five players had seven or more kills for A-State, led by nine apiece from former Marion Patriot Daedrianna Cail (.467) and Haley Glunz (.444). The middle-blocker duo also combined for five blocks. Devyn Lewis also had nine kills, while Grace Wiley and Whitlock accounted for eight and seven, respectively.
Defensively, Martinez led all players with 15 digs, while Whitlock added 13.
The Bobcats surged out to a 10-5 lead in the opening set, but four straight kills by Lewis and a Texas State attack error leveled the score at 10-all. After A-State led 1211, Texas State moved back ahead 21-15. The Red Wolves pack within three when a Martinez ace made it 21-18, but the Bobcats went on to take the set 25-19 with four of the last five points.
Texas State again took an early lead in the second set, leading 10-6 before a block by Cail and Lewis pulled AState within 12-10. The Red Wolves then tied it at 14 on back-to-back Glunz kills, and then a solo block from Wiley put them ahead 19-18. After the Bobcats reclaimed a 22-20 lead, back-to-back Lewis kills leveled the score at 22. AState then saved a set point with a Glunz kill, but the Bobcats answered on one of MJ McCurdy’s match-high 16 kills to take a two-set lead.
A-State opened up strong in the third set, leading 10-4 after a Whitlock kill, but Texas State rallied back to even it at 10. A block by Jade Defraeye and Samantha Wunsch marked the go-ahead point for the Bobcats, which then expanded the lead to 1714 on an ace by Alyssa Ortega. Texas State’s lead grew to 22-18, but Glunz recorded a kill and an ace to pull the Scarlet and Black back within two. The Bobcats would go on to win the match, though, securing the final three points.
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Photos courtesy of A-State
