FOLEY, Ala. – Three teams from the West Division and the Regular Season champion won their quarterfinal matches on the second day of the 2025 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship inside the Foley Events Center in Foley, Ala.
Match 3: (3W) Texas State 3, (2E) Coastal Carolina 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Second seed in the west Texas State (17-11) used offensive pressure and pace to earn the 3-0 win over Coastal Carolina (18-11), 25-21, 25-21, 26-24.
The first set remained close as both teams exchanged the lead, with no greater margin that three. Texas State won the first set on a 3-0 run that featured a pair of blocks from Jade Defraeye. She finished the match with nine total blocks, which at the time of the match, tied the Sun Belt Championship record for a three set match.
Texas State jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the second set; however, a late 9-3 run put the Chanticleers ahead 21-20 with the kill from Jalyn Stout. The Bobcats answered with five consecutive points to take the second set 25-21.
Coastal Carolina fended off a pair of match points in the third set, however a pair of kills from Wunsch secured the Texas State victory, and a return to the championship semifinals for the 13th consecutive season.
Texas State led 44-34 in kills as both teams tallied 13 blocks. The Bobcats held a slight advantage in assists, 39-31, and digs, 46-32. Defraeye led the way offensively with 11 kills as Dylan Gilkey totaled 12 digs. For the Chanticleers, Stout finished the year with a triple double on 13 kills, 10 digs and 10 assists.
Match 4: (1W) Arkansas State 3, (5W) Southern Miss 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Top west division seed Arkansas State (20-8) earned the 3-0 win, 25-13, 25-20, 29-27, with a 13-4 advantage in blocks and 49-35 advantage in kills. Southern Miss (17-12) finished the match with a pair of aces and 49 digs.
Arkansas State hit .538 in the first set as they led from start to finish. The Red Wolves trailed early in the second set 10-9, before an 8-2 run put them ahead 16-12. A block from Collum and Cail gave Arkansas State the second set win, 25-20.
Southern Miss jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the third set. Arkansas State responded with a 9-1 run to cut the margin to one, 13-12. The two teams traded points, however the Golden Eagles earned match point on an error, ahead 24-19. A 6-0 Red Wolves run put Arkansas State on match point, 25-24. Arkansas State finished the set on a pair of kills from Collum and Lewis to win 29-27 and return to the semifinals for the second consecutive year.
Kaitlin Whitlock led the Red Wolves with 12 kills as Addison Collum totaled 10 with four blocks. Daedrianna Cail added five kills with eight blocks as Mia Maloney totaled 17 digs. For Southern Miss, Sadie McAda finished with 10 kills with both Brynn Botkin and Sunni Sheppard finishing with 11 digs each.
Match 5: (1E) James Madison 3, (4W) Troy 1 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Regular season champions and top seed from the east division James Madison (21-8) used 23 blocks to secure a return trip to the semifinals 3-1, 26-24, 25-14, 11-25, 25-23. 17 of the 23 blocks came in the first two sets.
Troy (10-16) was the first team to 15 in the first set and used a late 7-0 run to lead 23-16. A 10-1 James Madison run ended the set, 26-24, as Ayen Nhial picked up four blocks over the run.
James Madison led 6-1 early and never slowed in the second set as the first five points of the set were blocks from Nhial. Sun Belt Player and Newcomer of the Year Kennedy Louisell ended the set on a kill for the 25-14 set win.
Troy responded in the third set, as the Trojans never trailed, extending their lead to 17-4. Leading 18-9, Troy forced the lone fourth set of the day with a 7-2 run as the Trojans limited the Dukes to just five kills during the set, while scoring 14 of their own.
The fourth set went back and forth as both teams exchanged points. James Madison led 22-19 late in the set after a service error, however Troy answered with a 4-1 run capped off by an ace from Austin to tie the set at 23. Louisell picked up a kill and an attack error gave the fourth set to the Dukes, 25-23.
Nhial finished the match with 16 blocks, which set not only a new program record, but broke a Sun Belt Championship record for a four set match that was set in 2004 at 13 blocks. Louisell finished the match with 15 kills as Melisa Ilter totaled 10 blocks in the match as well. For Troy, Amiah Butler finished with a match-high 16 kills and added five digs. Olivia Wkiatkowski picked up four service aces as the Trojans totaled 13 as a team.
Match 6: (2W) South Alabama 3, (3E) Georgia Southern 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
The west division’s second seed South Alabama (15-13) used its high-powered offense to advance to the semifinals for the fourth time in five years 3-0, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23.
The Jaguars never trailed in the first set and won 25-16. Halfway through the second set, a kill from Georgia Southern’s Bowron tied the match at 15. A 7-2 South Alabama run with a block from O’Gorman and Blackwell put the Jaguars ahead 22-17. Blackwell finished the set with a kill as South Alabama won 25-19.
Georgia Southern led for virtually all the third set, eventually ahead 17-16 after a service ace from Dittmar. South Alabama answered with a 6-2 run to regain the lead 22-19. The two teams traded a pair of points three times. Blackwell provided the final kills to give South Alabama the 25-23 win.
Individually, Reagan Barth and Alex Myers led Georgia Southern offensively with eight kills. Kirsten Barrett finished with a double-double on 24 assists and 10 digs as Maddie Cugino totaled a match-high 19 digs. For South Alabama, Alexa Strandberg finished in double digits with 10 kills as both Blackwell and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Cambria Gaier finished with nine. Sun Belt Setter of the Year Anna Loberg finished with 36 assists, eight digs, a service ace and a block assist. The Jaguars had three individuals finish with double digit digs in O’Gorman, Wilson and Gaier.
2025 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament Schedule
November 20-23, 2025 | Foley, Ala. | Foley Sports Tourism Complex
First Round – Thursday, November 20
Match 1 - 1:30 p.m. CT – (5W) Southern Miss 3, (4E) Georgia State 0
Match 2 - 4:30 p.m. CT – (4W) Troy 3, (5E) Marshall 1
Quarterfinals – Friday, November 21
Match 3 – 11:00 a.m. CT – (3W) Texas State 3, (2E) Coastal Carolina 0
Match 4 – 1:30 p.m. CT – (1W) Arkansas State 3, (5W) Southern Miss 0
Match 5 – 4:30 p.m. CT – (1E) James Madison 3, (4W) Troy 1
Match 6 – 7:00 p.m. CT – (2W) South Alabama 3, (3E) Georgia Southern 0
Semifinals – Saturday, November 22
Match 7 – 2:00 p.m. CT – (1W) Arkansas State vs. (3W) Texas State
Match 8 – 5:00 p.m. CT – (1E) James Madison vs. (2W) South Alabama [ESPN+]
Championship – Sunday, November 23
Match 9 – 4:00 p.m. CT – Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8 [ESPN+]