FOLEY, Ala. - Arkansas State and Marshall won their opening-round matches on Wednesday at the Foley Events Center to advance to the second round of the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship.
The Red Wolves earned a 3-0 sweep against Georgia State, while the Thundering Herd won a hard-fought five-set battle with ULM.
The second round of the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship will take place Thursday with four matches beginning at 12 p.m. CT. All four matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Match 1: (6W) Arkansas State 3, (7E) Georgia State 0 (Box Score)
Arkansas State freshman outside hitter Bailey Helzer registered 19 kills on .515 hitting to lead the Red Wolves to a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) against Georgia State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
For Helzer, it marked her fourth consecutive match with 15 or more kills and was four shy of her career high. She totaled 20 points and added five digs.
Arkansas State (8-21), the No. 6 seed in the SBC West, advances to play Old Dominion, the No. 3 seed in the East, on Thursday at 12 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast by ESPN+.
Arkansas State has won at least one match in the Sun Belt Conference Championship in nine of their last 10 appearances.
The Red Wolves’ Macey Putt added eight kills and 11 digs. Sarah Martinez came up with a match-high 16 digs. Yazmyn Billings posted a team-high four blocks.
Georgia State (7-22) was led by Clara Bednarek’s eight kills on .353 hitting and a match-high six blocks.
Match 2: (6E) Marshall 3, (7W) ULM 2 (Box Score)
Marshall jumped out to an early two-set lead before fighting off a tough challenge from ULM to claim a 3-2 (25-19, 25-17, 17-25, 21-25, 15-13) victory in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
The Thundering Herd were led by senior middle blocker Macy McElhaney’s team-high 18 kills, nine digs and two blocks for 21.0 total points. Regan Tinkle totaled 17 kills and Lydia Montague added 13 on .480 hitting with a match-high six blocks.
Marshall (10-19), the No. 6 seed in the SBC East, advances to play South Alabama, the No. 3 seed in the West, on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
With the match tied at two sets apiece, ULM took a 6-3 advantage early in the fifth set. Marshall rallied to tie the score at 8-all and the two teams battled closely throughout the frame. Trailing 11-10, the Thundering Herd ran off three consecutive points to go in front 13-11. Marshall won the fifth set 15-13.
ULM (7-25) was led by a match-high 20 kills from Madeline Williams. Taylor Thomas (12) and Tessa Gerwig (11) also totaled double-figure kills.
2022 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament Schedule and Results
November 16-20, 2022 | Foley, Ala. | Foley Sports Tourism Complex
First Round – Wednesday, November 16
Match 1 - (6W) Arkansas State 3, (7E) Georgia State 0
Match 2 – (6E) Marshall 3, (7W) ULM 2
Second Round – Thursday, November 17
Match 3 - 12:00 p.m. CT – (3E) Old Dominion vs. (6W) Arkansas State [ESPN+]
Match 4 – 2:30 p.m. CT – (4W) Southern Miss vs. (5E) Georgia Southern [ESPN+]
Match 5 – 5:00 p.m. CT – (3W) South Alabama vs. (6E) Marshall [ESPN+]
Match 6 – 7:30 p.m. CT – (4E) App State vs. (5W) Louisiana [ESPN+]
Quarterfinals – Friday, November 18
Match 7 – 12:00 p.m. CT – (2W) Troy vs. Winner Match 3 [ESPN+]
Match 8 – 2:30 p.m. CT – (1E) James Madison vs. Winner Match 4 [ESPN+]
Match 9 – 5:00 p.m. CT – (2E) Coastal Carolina vs. Winner Match 5 [ESPN+]
Match 10 – 7:30 p.m. CT – (1W) Texas State vs. Winner Match 6 [ESPN+]
Semifinals – Saturday, November 19
Match 11 – 4:00 p.m. CT – Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8 [ESPN+]
Match 12 – 6:30 p.m. CT – Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10 [ESPN+]
Championship – Sunday, November 20
Match 13 – 1:00 p.m. CT – Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12 [ESPN+]