Championship Central
FOLEY, Ala. – The top seeds in the West Division advanced in Saturday’s Semifinals at the 2024 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship as Arkansas State and Texas State will meet in the Foley Event Center on Sunday.
(2W) Texas State extended its winning streak to ten matches in the first semifinal with a 3-0 win over (1E) App State. (1W) Arkansas State also extended its winning streak to eleven matches with a 3-0 over (2E) Georgia Southern.
Three of the last four Sun Belt Championship matches have been opponents from the same division. Arkansas State leads in tournament titles with six, as Texas State is tied for third with four tournament crowns. The match between the Red Wolves and the Bobcats is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
(2W) Texas State 3, (1E) App State 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Texas State (21-8) totaled 13 blocks en route to a 3-0 win over (1E) App State. The Bobcats won 25-18, 26-24 and 25-18 to return to the Sun Belt Championship match.
App State (18-9) tallied 30 kills and five service aces. Individually, the Mountaineers were led by Lulu Ambrose with 10 kills and three service aces. Addison Heidemann added 27 assists as Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Elise Marchal added 10 digs with five kills. Kenady Roper added 11 digs as Ava Leahy tallied a pair of solo blocks.
The 35 kills from the Bobcats were spread out as four players totaled six or more. Samantha Wunsch and Bailey Hanner each tallied eight, as Hanner finished with six block assists and a solo block. Alyssa Clark tallied seven digs and three service aces as MJ McCurdy picked up seven kills with five service aces. Sun Belt Setter of the Year Ryann Torres added 30 assists with three kills, three block assists and six digs.
The Bobcats return to the title match for the seventh time in the last eight years.
(1W) Arkansas State 3, (2E) Georgia Southern 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Arkansas State (26-4) used a 12 block performance with a .336 hitting percentage to earn the 3-0 win over (2E) Georgia Southern in the second semifinal of the day. The Red Wolves won 25-17, 25-22 and 25-23 to return to the Sun Belt Championship bout.
Georgia Southern (21-6) was led by senior Jillian Gray who tied the Sun Belt Tournament record for kills in a three set match at 24, which was set in 1998. Gray added a pair of service aces and a block assist with five digs. Second-Team All-Sun Belt selection Kirsten Barrett added 35 assists and 12 digs for the double-double. Libero Ashlyn Lovett added 19 digs as the Eagles finished with 51.
The Red Wolves were led by Kaitlin Whitlock who tallied a double-double for the second consecutive night with 12 kills and 15 digs. Sun Belt Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year Daedrianna Cail tallied eight kills and five block assists with just one attack error for a .412 hitting percentage. Sun Belt Libero of the Year Sarah Martinez picked up 15 digs with a trio of assists. Erin Madigan added 22 assists as Haley Glunz totaled five block assists.
The return to the championship match marks the first for the Red Wolves since 2016.