Women's Volleyball Sun Belt Institutional Media Relations

App State, UALR, and Arkansas State pick up Sun Belt Volleyball Wins

October 5, 2014

A-State Volleyball Defeats UT Arlington 3-1


JONESBORO, Ark. (10/5/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated UT Arlington 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 28-30, 25-20) for its ninth win in its last 10 matches Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.

The Red Wolves (10-5, 5-1) had a strong start to the first set by jumping out to 4-0 on a Warrington kill and led 10-7 after a UT Arlington (13-5, 3-3) service error. UTA got within one point at 14-13, but A-State used an 11-6 run, capped by a Jessica Uke kill, to earn a 25-19 set victory. UT Arlington responded in the second set by racing out to an 18-12 lead, but A-State fought back to tie the set at 21-21 and ended the set on a 4-0 run, capped by a Kelsey Reis block, to win the second game 25-21.

Arkansas State went into the intermission up by a score of 2-0 and seemed poised to sweep the Mavericks by earning the first five points of the set and leading 18-11 after a UTA service error. UT Arlington fought its way back using a 9-1 run to take a 20-19 lead over the Red Wolves. Both teams traded points until A-State had match point at 24-22 on a Warrington kill. UTA fought back to tie the set 24-24 and with the set tied 28-28, the Mavericks earned two straight points for a 30-28 win.

The fourth set was close early with A-State holding a slight 9-8 edge before a 4-0 run gave the Red Wolves a 13-8 lead. UTA never quite recovered from that point on as A-State extended its advantage to 23-17 on a Reis kill, but UTA scored the next three points to get within 23-20 to force A-State to use a timeout. After the timeout, another kill by Reis and a bad set by the Mavericks gave Arkansas State a 25-20 fourth set victory and 3-1 match win.

“I’m proud of the way we came out and the effort we gave,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said. “Sets one and two were really good for us and we had set three under control, but UT Arlington is a really good team and I think we discounted the fact that they’d have the fight and courage to come back with. Getting into game four, we knew it would be a battle and we’re lucky to get out of here with a win.”

Three A-State players reached double-digits in kills with Sarah Kemp leading the way after she recorded 17 kills, while adding 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Reis (15) and Uke (12) also registered double-digit kills and Uke did it on a team-high .455 hitting percentage. Warrington dished out 49 assists and also recorded 11 digs to give her a team-leading 12 double-doubles. Defensively, Markie Schaedig led the Red Wolves with 27 digs and Reis added two blocks.

“I couldn’t get my assists if it weren’t for the defense, they’ve really picked it up,” Warrington said. “This weekend was huge for us to sweep ULM and beat UTA to give us more momentum heading into Friday night against Georgia State.”

Arkansas State returns to action Friday, Oct. 10 at home versus Georgia State. First serve from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m., and fans can keep up with the entire match’s action by following @AStateGameday on Twitter. For the latest on the A-State volleyball team follow the squad on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball).

Mavericks Volleyball falls in four

JONESBORO, Ark. - UT Arlington fell in four sets (25-19, 25-21, 28-30, 25-20) on Sunday afternoon to Arkansas State. Despite holding a 9-3 block advantage at the net, the Mavericks were outhit .266 to .236 in the match.

The loss drops the Mavericks to 13-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play while the Red Wolves improve to 10-5 this season with a 5-1 record in the Sun Belt.

Qiana Canete led UTA as she recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 24 digs and 13 kills. Taylor Gross also did her part to spark the Mavericks offensively with 12 kills, eight digs and a hitting percentage of .357.

Both teams notched 19 hitting errors and UTA edged the Red Wolves in digs recording 80 compared to 79 for ASU.

The Mavericks will return to action this Wednesday when they take on Texas State at College Park Center with the match set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Mountaineers Volleyball Sweeps By Troy

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball improved to 15-2 on Sunday, sweeping Troy in three sets with scores of 25-11, 25-18 and 25-17.

The Mountaineers (15-2, 5-2 Sun Belt) have now defeated the Trojans (9-10, 1-6 SBC) twice this season, helping them to a fourth-place Sun Belt standing.

The Apps immediately took control of the first set, scoring five-straight points with kills from Jess Keller and Hailey Kerr to jump out to a 9-4 lead. The Trojans would find two kills from Blair Winston but it would not deter the Apps from going on an 8-1 run to lead 19-7.

The Mountaineers would slow down at the end of the set but still handedly took the first with a score of 25-11 to lead 1-0.

Troy would be the team to take the first lead in the second, scoring three-straight points to lead 3-1, but Appalachian went on another run, scoring six-straight, including two kills from Emily Corrigan to take a 7-3 lead.

The Trojans stayed in the game, never trailing by more than two points until a kill from Sloan Evans put the Apps up 19-13.

The points would go back-and-forth for the rest of the set but an assist from Paige Brown and a kill from Corrigan gave the Mountaineers the 25-18 decision in the second set to help the Apps lead the match 2-0.

Appalachian began the third set with a lead, but Troy would stay within two points until recording two attack errors to fall behind 11-6. The Mountaineers took advantage of the Trojan errors, quickly going up 15-7 with kills from Corrigan and Evans.

The Mountaineers were able to maintain the comfortable lead, never letting the Trojans come within four points for the rest of the set. The Apps finished off the fourth set with a block assist from Lauren Gray and Brown, taking the set 25-17 and winning the match 3-0.

Corrigan led the team on Sunday with 18 kills and was followed by Keller's 10 and Evans' nine. Gray found seven kills on the day, only making one error for a .500 hitting percentage.

Brown assisted 40 kills on the day, while Meghan Mahoney led the team defensively with 16 digs.

The Trojans were led by Kiah Cheatham's 10 kills and Ali Dowdall's 17 digs.

The Mountaineers had a fantastic offensive day, hitting .337 in the match, while also holding Troy to a .100 hitting percentage. The Apps had five team blocks to Troy's three.

App State will hit the road for Texas next weekend, taking on Texas State on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. and then UT Arlington on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m.

Troy Volleyball Swept at Appalachian State

BOONE, North Carolina – The Troy volleyball team concluded its season series with Appalachian State on Sunday with the Mountaineers taking a 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-17) win to complete the season sweep of the Trojans.

The loss was the sixth straight for Troy (9-10, 1-6) who will return home to take on rival South Alabama on Wednesday. The Trojans dropped two road contests this weekend at Sun Belt newcomers, including a Friday loss at Georgia Southern.

On Sunday at the Holmes Center against Appalachian State (15-2, 5-2), the Trojans hit just .100 for the match while the Mountaineers recorded a .337 attack percentage. Kiah Cheatham was a bright spot for the Trojans as she recorded a team-high 10 kills with just one error on 20 swings for a .450 attack percentage.

Reina Terry, after being Troy’s primary setter in two sets on Friday, was the setter in Sunday’s match and posted 27 assists. Defensively, Ali Dowdall recorded a match-high 17 digs to lead Troy.

The Mountaineers, who are now 9-1 at home this season, where led by Emily Corrigan’s 18 kills and Paige Brown’s 40 assists. App State hit a match-high .414 in the first set while Troy hit just .000 in a lopsided 25-11 win by the Mountaineers.

The Trojans made just four errors and the Mountaineers had seven in the second set, but App State had 18 kills and Troy just 10 as the Mountaineers won 25-18. Appalachian State scored 10 of 13 points midway through the third set to take control of a frame that ended with the Mountaineers ahead 25-17.

Troy returns to the court on Wednesday when South Alabama visits Trojan Arena. The Trojans and Jaguars will begin at 7 p.m. with admission FREE as usual. Following that, Troy will travel to ULM and UL Lafayette next Friday and Saturday, respectively.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.

Trojans Defeat Eagles 3-1, Earn Seventh Consecutive Win

STATESBORO, Ga. – UALR got off to a rocky start against Georgia Southern, but was still able to pull off its seventh consecutive victory and remain undefeated in the Sun Belt after winning 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 28-26, 25-21).

Senior Edina Begic once again led the Trojans’ offense by racking up 22 kills and came one dig short of a double-double.

Junior Sonja Milanovic earned her fifth double-double of the season with 12 kills and a season-high 22 digs. Milanovic’s 22 digs tied the career-high she set last year against Southeast Missouri.

UALR’s match-winning fourth set was back and forth until both teams tied the frame at 16. UALR went on a 5-2 run before Georgia Southern took its last timeout of the afternoon. The Eagles gained some traction but four Trojan kills wrapped up the set and match. UALR outhit Georgia Southern .265-.081 in the final frame, and Begic posted six kills on 12 attempts.

The tightest set of the afternoon came in the third as both squads remained tied at 26-26 going into extra points. An attack error and a bad set cost Georgia Southern the frame and turned out to be the breaking point of the match. Despite being on the losing end of kills, hitting percentage and assists, the Trojans made it work by having three more team blocks and two fewer errors than the Eagles.

The second set is where UALR would find its momentum. After starting the frame with a 7-3 lead, Georgia Southern would fight back and eventually tie the set at 15. After a kill by Milanovic, the Eagles helped the Trojans out by committing four consecutive attack errors, giving UALR a 20-15 lead. Georgia Southern got within two after a kill, service ace, and a UALR attack error. However, this ended up being the Eagles last scoring run of the set as the Trojans then went on a 5-1 run of their own to win their first set of the day. UALR held Georgia Southern to a -.081 hitting percentage during the set, as well as racking up 14 kills to the Eagles’ six.

UALR started the first set with a 5-2 lead before Georgia Southern responded to tie the set at 5. The set was deadlocked at 15-15 until the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take the lead. The Trojans tried to gain some ground by getting within three at 22-19, but it was the closest they would come as the Eagles found the final two points to win the first set.

Sophomore setter Megan Mathis earned 44 assists and two blocks. This is Mathis’ 10th match of the season with at least 30 assists, her sixth consecutive match with at least 30, and her third with at least 40.

Edina Selimovic helped the Trojans' defense with seven total blocks (one solo and six assisted) and added seven kills.

Also with seven kills and two block assists was redshirt sophomore Carolee Dillard.

Senior Adisa Hodzic had the second-highest block total with four.

As a team, the Trojans outhit the Eagles .208-.104. UALR’s 63 digs is the highest total of the season.

The Trojans return to action on Friday (Oct. 10) as they travel to Lafayette, La., to play their second match against Louisiana. UALR then returns home to once again face Georgia State on Sunday (Oct. 12).

UALR Tops Georgia Southern Volleyball to Stay Undefeated

STATESBORO, Ga. – Edina Begic tallied 22 kills, nine digs and three blocks, and UALR improved to 6-0 in the Sun Belt Conference volleyball standings with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 28-26, 25-21) victory over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon.

Jamie DeRatt posted 19 kills, 13 digs and four blocks to lead Georgia Southern (2-14, 2-5), and Kym Coley finished with 11 kills and three blocks. Kat Minnerly had 43 assists and 10 digs, while Leah Joseph finished with eight blocks and four kills.

Sonja Milanovic had 12 kills and a match-high 22 digs for UALR (12-4, 6-0), and Megan Mathis posted 44 assists.

The Trojans held the Eagles to .104 hitting in the match and recorded 11.5 blocks as Georgia Southern made 33 hitting errors.

"The frustrating thing is that we were right there, and we just didn't execute and make the easy plays," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. "We made the easy plays difficult, and that's why we didn't come out with a win."

With the match tied 1-1 and the Trojans leading 20-17 in the third set, Megan Chevalier had two kills in a 3-0 Eagle run that tied the score. UALR pushed ahead for a 24-23 cushion, and Georgia Southern fought off three set points and tied the match 26-26 on a DeRatt kill. But Edina Selimovic and Mathis combined for a block and then Selimovic served an ace to end the set.

Coley put down a kill to trim a three-point Trojan lead to 23-21 in the fourth set, but Milanovic put down a kill and Adisa Hodzic ended the match with a kill. The Eagles had five of their 12 team blocks in the set but made nine hitting errors.

DeRatt posted eight kills in the first set as the Eagles hit .219. With the score tied 15-15, Georgia Southern scored five straight points en route to taking the game 25-21.

The Eagles travel to Georgia State for a 6 p.m. Sun Belt Conference contest Wednesday.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.