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A-State’s Schaedig named AVCA All-America honorable mention

ASN — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 23:24:43 +0000

From A-State Sports
Dennen Cuthbertson, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations

JONESBORO – Arkansas State senior libero Markie Schaedig wrapped up her phenomenal career by being an American Volleyball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American for the second time in her career the AVCA announced Wednesday.

This is the third All-American award for A-State in school history with Schaedig earning the first accolade as an Honorable Mention selection in 2014 before Carlisa May earned Honorable Mention status last season. Most recently, Schaedig was named to her third consecutive AVCA All-Southwest Region team, which is a school record.

“I am really honored and can’t thank my coaches and teammates enough,” commented Schaedig. “They are my second family and have made my four years here at A-State something to remember. All I wanted to do was make the program better and I feel like I’ve helped to do that.”

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Schaedig led the team with 609 digs (5.30 per set), which is the eighth most in a single season in school history. The 5.30 digs per set mark ranks 11th in the nation, while the 609 digs are 18th most. The senior libero registered her third consecutive Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year award and claimed two Defensive Player of the Week awards this season to give her 12 for her career, which is tied for the most in league history. She leaves A-State with the third-most career digs in school history with 2,153.

Schaedig tallied double-digit digs in all but three matches during the 2016 campaign, including a season-high 36 in a 3-2 win at Coastal Carolina Sept. 25. She registered 20 or more digs in 17 matches and helped the Red Wolves’ defense hold opponents to a .160 hitting percentage, which ranked second in the league and is 15th-best in the country.

“This is a fantastic accolade for Markie,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “She was our very first All-American in school history and now she’s the first to be recognized two times. She’s definitely left a positive mark in her four-year career at Arkansas State.”

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A-State’s men’s basketball win streak snapped at TCU

ASN — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 16:43:30 +0000

From A-State Sports
Mark Taylor, Assistant Director for Media Relations

FORT WORTH, Texas. (12/3/16) – Arkansas State men’s basketball trailed by one at the half, but TCU closed the game on a 23-5 run to come away with a 77-54 win to snap the Red Wolves seven game win streak.

The Red Wolves fall to 7-2 on the season while TCU improved to 8-0. At 7-2, A-State is off to its best start since the 2008-09 season.

Devin Carter led A-State with 22 points while C.J. Foster added a career high 13 points. Vlad Brodziansky paced the Horned Frogs with 18 points while Kenrich Williams posted a double- double of 15 points and 13 rebounds.

“Looking at this thing, we knew we couldn’t turn the ball over and we had 10 turnovers in the first half,” said A-State head coach Grant McCasland. “You can’t do that against good teams because you saw the hole we dug early. We hadn’t started like that this year and that’s a credit to the TCU defense. We hadn’t seen length like they have and that really caused problems for us. Between us missing free throws, that turnover spree early in the game and them contesting all the shots at the rim, it really caused us problems.”

Despite an early 11-point deficit, A-State trailed 30-29 at the half. Carter converted a layup to give the Red Wolves a 31-30 lead early in the second period. TCU scored the next five points, but Carter hit another of his five three-pointers on the night to cut the deficit to 35- 34 with 15:19 remaining. The Red Wolves were able to draw fouls and get to the charity stripe, but struggled at the line in the second half allowing TCU to pull away.

TCU hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 37-34 with 14:46 left, but A-State went 1- of-4 at the line on the next two trips down the floor cutting the deficit to 37-35 with 14:22 left. The two point deficit would be as close as the Red Wolves could get as TCU pulled away over the final 13 minutes.

The Red Wolves finished the second half 3-of-12 (25 percent) at the free throw line and saw the Horned Frogs close the game on the 23-5 run. Rashad Lindsey converted a layup to make the score 56-51 with 6:40 remaining and the Red Wolves got a stop on the defensive end to get a chance of making it a one possession game.

A-State had two layups rim out and the Horned Frogs took advantage by closing the game on a 21-3 run. The three points by the Red Wolves came on a trey by Carter with 4:32 remaining, cutting the deficit to 61-54, but that would be the final points for A-State. TCU scored the final 16 points to set the final score.

“I told the guys I love them and I was proud of them,” said McCasland. “I thought we competed, but we had that little stretch where we missed a couple of layups and they hit some three’s to stretch it to eight. After that, it felt like we were climbing up a hill. TCU is a good team and hopefully this will give us a chance to get better.”

Despite two 3-point field goals from Foster early in the first half, A-State faced an 18-10 deficit with 11:36 left in the first half. The Red Wolves clamped down defensively, holding the Horned Frogs without a field goal the next seven plus minutes and was able to tie the game after trailing by as many as 11 points.

The Red Wolves committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes and TCU converted those mistakes into 11 points, nine of which came in transition. A-State cleaned it up the remainder of the half with just two turnovers while forcing the Horned Frogs into four miscues.

Carter heated up late in the first half, burying two three-pointers, the second of which tied the game at 26 with 2:47 left in the first half. A-State had two chances to take the lead late in the half, but trailed 30-29 at the break.

A-State finished the game 34.5 percent (19-55) from the field and 36.4 percent (8-22) from 3-point range. The Red Wolves struggled at the charity stripe, finishing 8-for-20 (40 percent). TCU finished 47.2 percent (25-53) from the floor and 36.8 percent (7-19) from long range. TCU was able to convert on 20-of-27 free throws (74.1 percent) and held a 16-0 advantage in fast break points. The Horned Frogs won the glass 38-34 and the battle in the paint 32-18.

The Red Wolves return to action December 14 in a 7 p.m. matchup at UT Martin.

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A-State Bowling tops November NTCA

ASN — Fri, 25 Nov 2016 14:05:55 +0000

From A-State Sports
Dennen Cuthbertson, Assistant Director for Athletics Media Relations

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State women’s bowling team is ranked as the top team in the country in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Poll that was released on Wednesday.

The Red Wolves (29-8) received 28 first-place votes and 1,337 total points to jump to first after being ranked third in the Preseason NTCA Poll. Sam Houston State is ranked behind A-State with eight first-place tallies and 1,223 total points. Nebraska (1,170), McKendree (1,148), and Stephen F. Austin (1,008) complete the top five of the November poll.

Arkansas State has competed in three tournaments this season with no lower than a third-place finish in any of the events. The Red Wolves won their first tournament of the season in their last competition, the Warhawk Classic, Nov. 11-13. A-State turned in a second-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational to open the campaign Oct. 21-23 before a third-place showing at the Track Kat Klash Nov. 4-6.

This is the first time for A-State to be ranked first in the NTCA Poll since the December poll of last season.

Arkansas State returns to action after the calendar turns to 2017 in its home tournament, the Mid-Winter Invitational, set for Jan. 13-15. The event will take place at the Hijinx Family Entertainment Center in Jonesboro with free admission to the tournament.

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A-State becomes bowl eligible with win over Troy

ASN — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 14:08:34 +0000

From A-State Sports
Christopher Graddy, Assistant Director for Media Relations

TROY, Ala. – The Arkansas State Red Wolves became bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season with a 34-3 victory over No. 25 Troy in front a nationally televised audience on ESPNU Thursday evening at Veterans Memoria Stadium.

A-State (6-4, 6-0 Sun Belt) scored 34 unanswered points, including 28 in the second half, to take sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt standings. The victory also gave Arkansas State its second victory over a ranked opponent since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 1992.

Despite being outgained for much of the first half, the Red Wolves finished the night with 388 yards of total offense. Warren Wand rushed for 90 yards on 17 attempts, while Chad Voytik added 61 yards on 14 rushes and a score to lead an A-State rushing attack that accumulated 208 yards on the ground. Johnston White added 37 yards and touchdown, while Daryl Rollins-Davis added 31 ground yards and a score.

“That’s about of complete of a game you can play defensively,” A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “That unit came up about as big as they could have because no one had really gotten to their quarterback and we were able to get pressure on him and effect what they wanted to do offensively. We couldn’t be more proud of the effort and result tonight and we’ll enjoy this one for the bus ride home and then turn our attention to Louisiana-Lafayette.”

After compiling just 126 yards of total offense in the first half, A-State gained 262 yards and outscored Troy (8-2, 5-1) 21 in the third quarter to build a 28-3 lead by the end of the period.

A-State scored on its first two drives of the quarter, including back-to-back scoring runs by Voytik and White to take a 28-3 lead with 8:59 to go in the period.

The half began with a Troy turnover when Chris Odom forced his second fumble of the night when he sacked Brandon Silvers and punched the ball out that was eventually recovered by Chris Humes in the end zone for the second score of the night for A-State to go up 14-3. The touchdown recovery marked the third touchdown of the by the senior defensive back.

The Red Wolves took a 21-3 advantage on their next offensive possession when it orchestrated a 6-play, 60-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard run from Voytik. The drive was highlighted by a 39-yard pitch and catch from Hansen to Dijon Paschal on a 3-and-8 to keep the drive alive. White scored the fourth A-State touchdown on a 24-yard scamper to push the lead to 28-3.

The most impressive drive of the night came in the fourth quarter when the Red Wolves went on a 91-yard scoring drive that took 10:53 off the clock and was capped off on a 6-yard run by Rollins-Davis to set the final.

“The most important thing all week we talked was not turning the ball over and that was thing we did the best thing we did tonight,” Anderson said. “To be able to run the ball the way did in the second half was really impressive and that 10-minute drive in the fourth quarter that put the nail in the coffin and was something we were most proud of the night.”

A-State’s offense struggled to get going until midway through the second quarter. The Red Wolves had just 26 yards of total offense before an 11-play, 80-yard drive resulted in the first touchdown of the nigh.

The drive was highlighted by a 31-yard pass from Cam Echols-Luper to Humes on a fake punt that kept the drive alive. The Red Wolves capitalized three plays later on an 8-yard pass from pass from Justice Hansen to Kendall Sanders to give Arkansas State a 7-3 lead with 3:02 to go in the first half.

Sanders finished with five catches for 31 yards and a score, while Chris Murray added 51 receiving yards on two receptions.

Defensively, A-State held Troy to 262 yards of total offense, but just 157 yards in the second half including a rushing total of negative yards in the half. Ja’Von Rolland-Jones also tied the Sun Belt Conference record by collecting his 26^th career sack.

Arkansas State is now 6-0 in SBC player for the third time in its history and for the second consecutive season. The Red Wolves are also 19-3 in the month of November since the 2011 season and are bowl eligible for the ninth time over the last 12 seasons.

A-State returns to action Saturday, Nov. 26 when it travels to Louisiana-Lafayette to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns at 11 a.m. The game will air on the American Sports Network.

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A-State to play Georgia State in SBC Tournament

ASN — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 04:29:24 +0000

From A-State Sports
Dennen Cuthbertsen, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State volleyball team will play Georgia State in the first round of the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament Friday at 5 p.m. as the league released the complete bracket Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of the regular season.

The top-seeded Red Wolves will face the eighth-seeded Panthers at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas on Friday, Nov. 18. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday Nov. 19, with the finals set for Sunday, Nov. 20. Every match of the tournament can be watched on ESPN3.

A-State claimed the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a 15-1 mark and West Division championship. The 15-1 mark tied the East Division champion Coastal Carolina for best in the league, but A-State defeated the Chanticleers on Sept. 25 to break the tie and earn the top seed.

If Arkansas State were to win its first-round match against Georgia State, the team would face the winner of the match between No. 4 UT Arlington and No. 5 Little Rock in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 19. The Mavericks are Trojans are set to square off at 7:30 on Friday, Nov. 18.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Texas State and No. 6 South Alabama will begin the tournament on Friday at noon before No. 2 Coastal Carolina will play No. 7 Georgia Southern at 2:30 p.m. The winners of both of those matches will meet in the semifinals on Nov. 19 at 4:00 p.m. Sunday’s championship match is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Red Wolves, last season’s SBC champs and tournament champs, enter the tournament on an 11-match winning streak. Head coach David Rehr has a career record of 6-3 in the conference tournament. A-State has won at least one game in the SBC Tournament during all four of his seasons after an 11-year streak (2001-2011) of not winning a single game in the event.

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A-State cruises past ULM

ASN — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 06:27:00 +0000

From A-State Sports
Mark Taylor, Assistant Director for Media Relations

JONESBORO – Sophomore quarterback Justice Hansen passed for four touchdowns and ran for another while sophomore running back Warren Wand caught two touchdown passes and punched another one in on the ground as A-State cruised past ULM 51-10 Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.

A-State (3-4, 3-0 SBC) held a 42-3 advantage at halftime and extended its conference win streak to 12 games. The Red Wolves, which went 7-for-7 in the red zone, finished with 434 yards of total offense, including 335 in the first half, behind 316 yards in the aerial attack.

Defensively, A-State allowed 336 total yards with 174 coming on the ground and 162 in the air. The defense held ULM to 10 points marking the first time since 2006 that A-State has held back-to-back opponents to 10 or fewer points since 2006 (at FIU: 31-6, vs ULM 10-6). The 41-point margin of victory ranks as the fourth-largest in a Sun Belt contest for A-State.

Hansen finished 21-for-36 passing for 303 yards and four touchdowns while rushing four times for 20 yards and a touchdown. Johnston White was the leading rusher with seven carries for 72 yards. Wand finished as the leading receiver with four catches for 65 yards and the two touchdowns.

“I thought it was our most complete game we have played this year,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “We made plays in all three phases. Special teams wise, no big issue that we are concerned about. We actually got the return game going and flipped the field. Defensively, we created turnovers and were stubborn against the run.

“Really, until we started making substitutions and had some mechanical problems with guys that don’t play a lot of snaps and then offensively until we started making substitutions, we were really solid. We were able to move the chains on third down and were seven-of-seven on third down and really taking what they were giving us.

“I don’t think they ever got to Justice and we protected him well and he made good decisions. I thought we improved and took a step in the right direction, but I think we can be better.”

Hansen was 3-for-5 on the opening drive for 61 yards, hooking up with Wand for a 28-yard touchdown on 4th-and-5. The scoring drive marked the first time this season that the Red Wolves had scored a touchdown on their opening drive.

Hansen completed 3-of-4 passes on the ensuing drive and found Chris Murray on a 3-yard shovel pass for the score, his second touchdown pass on the night. White broke the drive open with a 50-yard run on 1st-and-15 to set up A-State with 1st-and-goal from the 7-yard line.

The combo of Hansen and Wand was seen again as Wand caught a 31-yard pass to end the first quarter and put the Red Wolves within one yard of another score. After a one yard loss on a rush, Chad Voytik hit Wand for a 2-yard touchdown pass and the Red Wolves grabbed the 21-0 advantage early in the second quarter.

The passing game continued to be a force for A-State as Hansen tossed his third touchdown pass of the night to make it 28-0 with 10:21 left in the first half. Hansen completed 3-of-4 attempts on the drive, finding Sterling Stowers for an eight-yard touchdown.

A pass interference call against A-State helped ULM advance inside Red Wolves territory for the first time. The Warhawks later got within four yards of a touchdown, but A-State held ULM to a 21-yard field goal to make it 28-3 with 4:55 left in half.

Daryl Rollins-Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to make it 1st-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Wand was the focal point on all three plays, catching a pass for four yards before plunging into the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown plunge to make it 35-3 with 3:54 remaining.

The first turnover of the game was a Blaise Taylor interception and Taylor returned the pick 33 yards to set up A-State in scoring position once again. After an 11-yard pass on first down, the Red Wolves later faced 4th-and-1 from the ULM 6-yard line. Hansen rushed into the end zone on fourth down and made it 42-3 with 37 seconds left in the half.

A-State added a touchdown on their opening possession of the third quarter with Hansen hooking up with Blake Mack for an eight-yard touchdown. Hansen targeted Mack three times on the drive and Mack hauled in two receptions for 32 yards.

J.D. Houston added a 27-yard field goal later in the quarter to make the score 51-3, but ULM broke free for a 61-yard touchdown to make it 51-10 with 4:05 left on the third quarter clock.

A-State faces a quick turnaround and hits the road to face Georgia State on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU. The Red Wolves close out the home schedule with Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. against New Mexico State.

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A-State defeats Little Rock, 3-0, for sixth straight sweep

ASN — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 03:26:48 +0000

From A-State Sports
Dennen Cuthbertson, Assistant Director of Athletics, Media Relations

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State volleyball team topped Little Rock 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-20) Monday night at the Convocation Center for its sixth straight sweep, which is the most since a seven-match streak of sweeps in 1996.

The six consecutive sweeps of conference opponents also ties for the longest streak since 1994 as the Red Wolves (18-7, 10-1 SBC) registered their second highest hitting percentage of the year at .398. Carlisa May led the team with 15 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, while Kenzie Fields added 11 on a career-high .375 attacking mark. Jessica Uke tallied 10 kills on a .692 hitting percentage, which is the highest by an A-State player this season.

Mallory Warrington handed out 42 assists and fell just one dig shy of a double-double with nine that tied for the match high with teammates Markie Schaedig and Fields. Kelsey Reis added seven kills on a .600 attacking percentage and led the team with two aces. Reis, Uke, and Warrington each had a block apiece.

“I loved the team effort and thought we came out ready to go because you don’t have to talk much to get ready for Little Rock,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “There’s no love lost between us, but we also respect each other. We got a sweep and that’s what you want, but it got a little uglier at the end than we wanted it to.”

The Red Wolves jumped ahead of Little Rock (9-15, 5-6 SBC) 10-5 in set one and led 16-11 after a kill by the Trojans. However, A-State dominated the rest of the set with a 9-0 run, capped by a kill from Uke, to claim a 25-11 victory.

A-State raced out to a 9-3 advantage in set two after a kill by Warrington to force a Little Rock timeout. The timeout did little to slow down the home team as the lead was stretched to 20-10 before a 7-4 run by the Trojans put the tally at 24-17. The visitors won two straight points after a timeout to get within 24-19, but a kill by May gave A-State a 25-19 set win.

The third set began with the Trojans claiming an early 6-3 edge, but a 4-0 run by A-State, capped by a Uke kill, put the home team on top 7-6 and forced a Little Rock timeout. The set remained competitive until Shelby Holmes gave A-State a 20-16 lead on a kill. Little Rock got within three points once at 21-18, but never got any closer as Arkansas State was able to earn a 25-20 win for the sweep.

Arkansas State hits the road to play Georgia Southern in its next contest on Friday, Oct. 28. First serve from Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro is set for 5:30 p.m. (CT) and the match is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN3.

Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball) and Instagram (astatevolleyball) along with liking the Arkansas State University Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.

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Bears finish off 28-23 win over Red Wolves

ASN — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:27:28 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

JONESBORO – The University of Central Arkansas Bears finished the job this time, knocking off the Arkansas State Red Wolves 28-23 on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 28,012 at Centennial Bank Stadium.

The Bears, who had come close to beating several Football Bowl Subdivision teams in recent years, outscored the Red Wolves 15-7 in the decisive second half, getting the game-winning touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Hayden Hildebrand to ASU transfer Brandon Cox with 6:26 remaining. UCA (3-1, 2-0) then turned to its defense to stop ASU twice in the final five minutes to seal just the program’s second victory over an FBS school since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2006.

“I told them it was going to be tough,’ said a happy UCA head coach Steve Campbell on the field after the game. “Games like this are going to be tough, and you just have to keep battling and perservering. You know, bad things happen but you just keep battling and battling. And they did, and I’m so proud of them.

“And I’ve been very proud of them before when we’ve come up short. But this time we didn’t come up short. We played our butts off against Oklahoma State (last year). We played our butts off against Texas Tech (two years ago). And we played out butts off tonight. And it’s great to be proud of a team for fighting their butts off and then getting rewarded for it by winning the football game.’

UCA’s defense, ranked No. 4 in FCS against the run, allowed the Red Wolves (0-4) just 45 rushing yards on 34 attempts, intercepted two passes and recovered a pair of fumbles. One of the interceptions was by senior Tyler Williams on the UCA 9 with 4:40 remaining. The Red Wolves finished with 424 total yards of offense but managed just one score over the final three quarters. Three of ASU’s final four possessions ended in turnovers.

“Defense has played great all year,’ Campbell said. “They got us on a couple of plays, and that’s been our case. But I like our defense. When they don’t get you on a play, on a great scheme, something really, really schemed up, our guys are in good position and pretty good shape. And they did a great job of scheming and they got us on a couple of things. But I’m very, very proud of the way our defense played.’

After UCA punted back to ASU leading 28-23 with :38 remaining, the Red Wolves completed two passes down to the UCA 35. After an incomplete pass from Justice Hansen to Cameron Echols-Luper, he went to the end zone on second and 10 to Christian Booker but junior cornerback Tremon Smith positioned himself perfectly in front of him and knocked it down to end the game.

ASU took a 3-0 lead with a 33-yard field goal with 12:15 left in the first quarter. UCA answered less than four minutes later with a 47-yard punt return by Smith that gave UCA a 7-3 lead at the 8:42 mark of the period. Hansen then took the Red Wolves 48 yards in three plays, hitting Kendall Sanders with a 5-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead at 9-7 at the 8:02 mark. Hansen then connected with Warren Wand for 48 yards and another touchdown with 3:21 left in the quarter, giving ASU a 16-7 lead.

UCA got a pair of field goals from sophomore Matt Cummins in the final 1:44 of the second quarter to close the gap to 16-13 at the half. Cummins would add his third field goal, from 25 yards out, with 6:06 left in the third quarter to tie it at 16-16. ASU got a 58-yard scoring pass from Hansen to Echols-Luper less than a minute later to make it 23-16.

The Bears scored on a 3-yard run from senior Antwon Wells with 13:12 left in the game but Cummins’ PAT missed, leaving UCA with a one-point deficit. Hildebrand tossed the go-ahead touchdown to Cox, who transferred from ASU to UCA two years ago. The Bears finished with 382 yards of total offense, with Hildebrand overcoming a slow first half to complete 18 of 36 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. Wells led the Bears’ ground attack with 47 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season.

Senior wide receiver Jatavious Wilson caught 7 passes for 130 yards. Hildebrand also had a pair of quick kick punts for an average of 47 yards for the Bears, who lost 53-24 to the Red Wolves in the last meeting in 2011.

“They did it when they had to,’ Campbell said, “against a team that has won, what, four or five Sun Belt titles in a row and been to bowl games four or five years in a row. They found a way to get it done and I’m very, very proud of those guys.’

Junior linebacker James Graves led the Bears with 12 tackles, while junior rover George Odum had 11, including three tackles for loss, and forced a pair of fumbles. Redshirt freshman Chris Terrell forced and recovered a fumble and Smith grabbed UCA’s other interception.

First-place UCA returns to Southland Conference play next Saturday on the road at Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas.

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A-State volleyball wins home opener over UCA

ASN — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 03:54:33 +0000

From A-State Sports
Dennen Cuthbertson, Assistant Director Athletic Media Relations

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State volleyball team swept Central Arkansas 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) in its home opener Thursday night to open the 2016 A-State Invitational at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.

Kenzie Fields led the Red Wolves (5-3) with 13 kills and had 10 digs to register her second double-double of the season. Anna Murphy tallied 12 kills on a .364 attacking percentage, while Brentlee Weaver had nine on a .318 hitting percentage. Mallory Warrington handed out 39 assists, while Lindsay Cline (12) and Markie Schaedig (11) each had double-digit digs. Nicole Knight, Cline, and Fields had two service aces apiece.

“We’re not in a great place yet as a team,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We’re still working through some lineups and other changes, but today was one great step in the right direction. There’s nothing like playing at home in the Convocation Center. The crowd was with us, the band was amazing, so playing these next three at home is crucial for us.”

A-State raced out to a 10-6 lead on Central Arkansas (3-5) after a Weaver kill in set one and led 16-12 after a Carlisa May kill to force a UCA timeout. The Sugar Bears also called another timeout down 24-19 and the Red Wolves won the next point on a Murphy kill for a 25-19 set win.

UCA began the second set strongly with a 9-4 run, capped by a block, to force an A-State timeout. However, the Red Wolves battled to within 16-15 on a Fields’ kill to force a Sugar Bears’ timeout. Central Arkansas led 22-20 after a kill, but the Red Wolves ended the set on a 5-1 run to win the set 25-23 for a 2-0 edge.

The third set began evenly with the score tied 9-9, but a 5-0 Arkansas State run put the score at 14-9. The Sugar Bears never really threatened the rest of the set as the Red Wolves closed out a 25-17 set win and 3-0 match victory with a kill from Shelby Holmes.

“It’s good being back home,” Fields said. “I thought I played smart and didn’t overthink. I just enjoyed it, the atmosphere, and my teammates.”

Arkansas State returns to action Friday night in its second game of the A-State Invitational with a matchup against UT Martin. First serve from the Convocation Center is set for 6 p.m. for that matchup. UT Martin plays Tulsa at 10:30 a.m. to open Friday’s action, while Central Arkansas and Tulsa play at 3:30 p.m. prior to A-State’s home matchup.

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Arkansas college Players of the Week – Aug. 22-28, 2016

ASN — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 22:12:17 +0000

This week’s Arkansas college Players of the Week are Markie Schaedig, ASU, and Ulises Cordova, Lyon.

Markie Schaedig, senior, Arkansas State (Little Rock Christian Academy)

The Red Wolves went 2-1 to open the season at the TCU Invitational and Schaedig and had 60 digs through those first three matches. Her stat line now shows 5.45 digs per set, which is at the top of the Sun Belt list after the first weekend. The senior had 19 digs in each of the wins, over Northwestern State and North Carolina State, and each were three-set sweeps.

Ulises Caba Cordova, senior, Lyon

The Scots won their only match this week, a 3-2 victory over Martin Methodist. Cordova had two goals in the contest. His first came in the 35th minute to open the scoring for both sides. His second was a header in overtime that gave his team the win, the first of the season for Lyon.

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