JONESBORO, Ark. (10/30/11) – The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated
Louisiana-Monroe 27-25, 24-26, 25-8, 25-14 on senior day at the HPESS Facility.
The win also gave A-State a perfect 8-0 record at home this season,
marking the first time an ASU volleyball team has gone undefeated at home since
2004.
“I think it is great for our fans and our girls certainly love it,” ASU
volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. “We like going undefeated anywhere, but doing
it a home is certainly great.”
Arkansas State (19-7, 10-2 SBC) battled with the Warkhawks in the first
two before settling in the final two to come away with the 3-1 victory. ASU
jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the first set, but ULM fought back to close the
gap to 23-22 late in the set. Taylor Szypulski setup a set point at 24-22, but
the Warhawks (9-13, 3-9) fought off the next two points to tie the score at
24-24.
Jasmine Terry gave ASU a 25-24 lead on the next point but ULM again
fought off the set point and tied the score at 25-25. Terry again put ASU ahead
with a kill on the next point and an attacking error from ULM gave ASU a 27-25
victory.
In the second set the Red Wolves struggled to find a rythym offensively,
while ULM stayed close throughout the match. The Warhawks hit for a .289
percentage in the set, while ASU struggled with a .143 percentage which allowed
ULM to pull away for a 26-24 victory.
“We started out a little slow and it took a little bit in order to take
care of the small plays,” Ingram said. “Taking care of those plays at high
efficiency is going to get us those points on the board.”
A-State dominated the third set and quickly built a 10-2 lead. The Red
Wolves scored nine straight points in the match and easily won 20-8. The Red
Wolves carried the momentum in the fourth set as well and jumped out to a 15-6
edge. Amanda Chaparro eventually put the set and match away for ASU with
back-to-back kills to give A-State the 25-14 set victory and a 3-1 match
victory.
Fielder, who played in her last home game as a Red Wolf, finished the
match with 15 kills and three blocks. Terry added 13 kills on the afternoon and
Syzpulski finished 12 kills and eight digs. Megan Baska paced the defense with
17 digs and A'Zlynn Thompson had a career-high 43 assists. Whitney Nilson had
one dig in her final home match as a Red Wolf.
The A-State volleyball team will return to the court on Nov. 4 at North
Texas followed by a match at Denver on Nov. 6.
