No. 4 Arkansas State upends No. 8 Troy to advance to sixth consecutive semifinals
JONESBORO, Ark. - No. 4 Arkansas State earned the second sweep of the night as the Red Wolves downed No. 8 Troy, 3-0, in the second quarterfinal of the 2017 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship at First National Bank Arena.
The Red Wolves were sluggish at the start of the first set but rebounded nicely to put away the Trojans with a 25-22 after the Trojans jumped out to a 15-12 lead early on. Both teams struggled offensively in the first set, as the Trojans posted an attack percentage of -.029, while the Red Wolves hit a .139.
"We had some opening jitters in the first game for us. Troy already had a nice five sets to go before we got into this thing so I think that we played that way tonight. But, once we got it rolling, we got it rolling," said Arkansas State head coach David Rehr.
Both teams battled in the second set, as neither could gain a comfortable lead. Three straight points from the Trojans gave them a 23-21 lead, but the Red Wolves answered back with a 3-0 scoring run of their own and eventually broke away for a 28-26 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams continued to trade points back and forth in the third set until the Red Wolves brok out for four of five points down the stretch to take a commanding 24-20 lead. The Trojans quickly gained two points back to get within 24-22 but the Red Wolves picked up the final deciding point for the victory.
"We didn’t play well, but let's credit Troy for a gutsy game. We have got to get a lot better to get through Coastal but I think we are up to the challenge,” added Rehr.
Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Carlisa May continued to be explosive for Arkansas State with 16 kills and 17.0 points on the night. She finished with a .278 hitting percentage on 36 total attacks. Drew Jones was solid as well for the Red wolves with 11 kills and three blocks. Ellie Watkins totaled 36 assists in the win for the Red Wolves.
Troy's Logan Page had another great night following up her performance against South Alabama with a .583 hitting percentage against the Red Wolves.
The Red Wolves outhit the Trojans in the match. A-State finished with 40 kills on a .204 hitting performance while the Trojans totaled 38 kills and a .082 hitting percentage.
With the win the Red Wolves improved to 20-10 on the year to advance to their sixth consecutive semifinals. They will take on top-seeded Coastal Carolina at FNB Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (CT). The loss ends Troy's season at 11-22.