Championship Central
FOLEY, Ala. – All four of the top seeds at the 2024 Sun Belt Volleyball Championships won their quarterfinal matchups and advanced to the Semifinals on Friday at the Foley Event Center.
(2W) Texas State defeated James Madison 3-0 in the first quarterfinal of the match. (1E) App State outlasted (5E) Georgia State in five sets 3-2 to advance to the semifinals. The third match of the day saw (1W) Arkansas State rally in the fifth set to defeat (4E) Coastal Carolina 3-2. The final match of the day saw (2E) Georgia Southern sweep (3W) South Alabama 3-0. The quarterfinals marked the fourth time since 2016 that all four top seeds advanced to the semifinals with the last occurrence in 2021.
Both semifinal matchups will be streamed on ESPN+. App State will face Texas State in the first semifinal at 2:00 p.m. CT. Arkansas State will then face Georgia Southern in the eighth match of the tournament at 5:00 p.m.
(2W) Texas State 3, (3E) James Madison 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Texas State (20-8) used its high-power and efficient offensive to hit .482 for the match and lead 45-36 in kills over James Madison. Texas State also led 6-3 in aces and 7-1 in blocks. The Bobcats won 25-18, 25-17, 25-14.
James Madison (11-16) finished the match with a .241 hitting percentage and led 30-27 in digs. Bre Reid led the Dukes with nine kills as Rebecca Watkins (14) and Jordan Smart (15) led defensively in digs.
The Bobcats were led by First-Team All-Sun Belt member Samantha Wunsch with 15 kills and a .682 hitting percentage. Sun Belt Setter of the Year Ryann Torres added 32 assists as libero Alyssa Ortega totaled 11 digs and seven assists. MJ McCurdy also finished in double figures with 12 kills.
Since joining the league in 2013, Texas State has advanced to the Semifinal Round of the Sun Belt Championship every season.
(1E) App State 3, (5E) Georgia State 2 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
In the second match of the day, App State (18-8) led 61-56 in kills to edge out Georgia State in five sets. App State won the first set 28-26 with Georgia State taking the second 25-21. The Mountaineers responded in the third 25-22, before the Panthers answered in the fourth 25-15. App State used a late run in the fifth set to advance 15-8.
Georgia State (17-13) tallied 56 kills and led 16-11 in blocks. The Panthers also led 69-64 in digs and narrowly trailed 9-7 in aces. Keionna Mackey led offensively with 13 kills as Myllena Torquetti added 10 with five block assists. Shanelle Martinez tallied 26 assists with Kaleigh Fitzgerald tallying three service aces and 26 digs.
The Mountaineers were led by First-Team All-Sun Belt member Maya Winterhoff with 15 kills and three total blocks. Ava Leahy and Lulu Ambrose each added 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Addison Heidemann tallied 54 assists with a pair of service aces and a pair of block assists. Kenady Roper tallied 22 digs as Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Elise Marchal added 11.
The Mountaineers advance to their first semifinal matchup since the 2018 season.
(1W) Arkansas State 3, (4E) Coastal Carolina 2 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Arkansas State (25-4) prevented the reverse sweep in the fifth set by hitting .500 with 11 kills and one error in the final frame. The Red Wolves led 72-59 in kills and 83-73 in digs. Arkansas State won the first two sets 25-12 and 25-20. Coastal Carolina answered in the third and fourth with 25-22 and 25-20 wins. Arkansas State finished the match in the fifth set 15-12.
Coastal Carolina (13-17) was led by a heroic effort from sophomore Jalyn Stout, who was also a member of the First-Team All-Sun Belt. Stout totaled her 20th triple double of the season with 21 kills, 24 assists and 15 digs with three block assists. Agata Lesiak added 11 kills as Ava Wallis added 29 assists. Libero Sydney Lewis finished with 23 digs as Emily Fowler totaled five service aces.
Arkansas State was led by Second-Team All-Sun Belt member Kaitlin Whitlock who tallied 25 kills and 15 digs. Devyn Lewis added 18 kills as Grace Wiley finished with 13. Erin Madigan added a double double with 34 assists and 13 digs as Sun Belt Libero of the Year Sarah Martinez tallied a double double on 10 assists and 26 digs.
Arkansas State also advance to their first semifinal since the 2018 season, where they fell to the Mountaineers 3-1 as the sixth seed.
(2E) Georgia Southern 3, (3W) South Alabama 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
In the final match of the day, Georgia Southern (21-5) used a 7-3 advantage in service aces and 15-11 lead in blocks to earn the 3-0 win. The Eagles won 25-22, 25-19 and 28-26 to advance.
South Alabama (15-12) finished with 38 kills and led 36-34 in assists. Individually, the Jaguars were led offensively by Second-Team All-Sun Belt member Sarah Gooch with 12 kills. First-Team All-Sun Belt setter Anna Loberg tallied a double-double with 31 assists and 14 assists.
The Eagles were led by First-Team All-Sun Belt Reagan Barth who tallied 11 kills and nine digs with three block assists. Second-Team All-Sun Belt setter Kirsten Barrett tallied 29 assists with a match-high four service aces. Second-Team All-Sun Belt libero Ashlyn Lovett added 20 digs.
The semifinal advancement marks for the first for the Eagles in program history.