Arkansas State Volleyball

Transcription

1 2011 Schedule Samford/UAB Tournament Birmingham, Ala. 8/26 Akron W, 3-0 8/26 UAB L, 3-2 8/27 Samford L, 3-2 Arkansas State Volleyball Chris Graddy, Graduate Assistant Sports Information Office: Cell: astateredwolves.com Matches 18 & 19: vs South Alabama & Troy 2011 Lipscomb Invitational Nashville, Tenn. 9/2 Charlotte W, 3-2 9/2 Tennessee Tech W, 3-0 9/3 Lipscomb W, 3-1 9/5 at Saint Louis L, 3-1 Missouri State Tournament Springfield, Mo. 9/9 South Dakota State L /9 Missouri State L, 3-1 9/10 Hofstra W, 3-2 9/13 SEMO W, 3-0 Northwestern State Tournament Natchitoches, La. 9/16 Alcorn State W, 3-0 9/16 Central Arkansas W, 3-0 9/17 Northwestern State W, 3-0 9/23 at Middle Tennessee* W, 3-2 9/24 at Western Kentucky* L, 3-0 9/27 UALR* W, 3-0 9/30 South Alabama* 7:00 PM 10/1 Troy* 7:00 PM 10/7 Denver* 7:00 PM 10/8 North Texas* 7:00 PM 10/14 at UALR* 7:00 PM 10/21 at FIU* 6:30 PM 10/23 at Florida Atlantic* 1:00 PM 10/28 Louisiana-Lafayette* 7:00 PM 10/30 ULM* 1:00 PM 11/4 at North Texas* 7:00 PM 11/6 at Denver* 1:00 PM 11/6 at Louisiana-Lafayette* 7:00 PM 11/13 at ULM* 1:00 PM Sun Belt Conference Tournament Miami, Fla. 11/17-19 Opponent TBA TBA *Sun Belt Conference Match All Times Central Home matches in BOLD South Alabama (7-7, 2-0) Friday, Sept p.m. CDT Series: ASU Leads 20-4 SERVING IT UP: The Arkansas State volleyball team will host a pair of Sun Belt Conference matches this weekend. On Friday, Sept. 30 the Red Wolves will play South Alabama, followed by Troy on Oct. 1. South Alabama enters the match with a 2-0 conference record after picking up wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend. The Jaguars won each of those matches in four sets. South Alabama is currently fourth in the SBC West Division Standings. Troy also earned victories over Lousiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette in the first weekend of conference play and will play Arkansas-Little Rock on Sept. 30 before traveling to Jonesboro on Oct. 1. The Trojans are currently third in the SBC West Division Standings. Troy ranks first in the conference with digs per game and has allowed the second lowest opponent attacking percentage at.157. THE SOUTH ALABAMA SERIES: This is the 25th meeting all-time between the Red Wolves and Jaguars. South Alabama won last year s meeting 3-2. ASU s last win over the Jaguars was a 3-0 victory in THE TROY SERIES: This will be the eighth meeting all-time between A-State and Troy. The Red Wolves have won all seven of the previous meetings. HOME STAND: This weekend s game will mark the middle of ASU s five-match home stand, its longest of the season. The Red Troy (12-4, 2-0) Saturday, Oct. 1 7 p.m. CDT Series: ASU Leads 7-0 Wolves are currently 1-0 on the homestand after defeating Arkansas-Little Rock on Sept. 27. PROMOS: Friday, Sept. 30 will be student night at the HPESS. Prizes will be given for students wearing the best volleyhats. Saturday Oct. 1 will be YMCA night. Area youth volleyball leagues will get in free and volleyball clinic will be held before the game. CHASING HISTORY: Senior Cayla Fielder is in ninth place on the ASU all-time kills list. She now has 1,198 kills in her career at ASU. Susanne Snipes is eighth on the list with 1,266 kills. CAN YOU DIG IT: Megan Baska has 304 digs on the year and now has 868 for her career. SEASON HIGHS: Sophomore Ashley Tipps set a new team season-high with a.692 attacking percentage against Middle Tennessee. Junior Allison Kearney recorded a team season high 54 assists against Middle Tennessee on Friday. WHERE THEY RANK: Junior Allison Kearney ranks second in the conference with 31 aces and a 0.51 aces per set mark thus far. That also ranks 17th nationally. Megan Baska ranks third in the conference with 4.74 digs per set. That also ranks 68th nationally. As a team A-State leads the conference with an 1.71 aces per set average so

2 Athletic Media Relations Arkansas State University PO Box 1000 State University, AR Telephone Fax Press Row Website - AStateRedWolves.com VOLLEYBALL CONTACT Chris Graddy, Graduate Assistant christop.graddy@smail.astate.edu Sports Information Office Jerry Scott, Asst. A.D./Sports Info. Dir jscott@astate.edu Van Provence, Asst. SID vprovence@astate.edu Anthony Reynolds, Asst. SID areynolds@astate.edu MEDIA INFORMATION Post-Game Interviews The Arkansas State locker room is closed to all members of the media. However, head coach Justin Ingram and requested players will be available for interviews following a brief cooling off period. Practice Coverage Red Wolves volleyball practices are open to the media. Players and coaches are available for interviews following practice. When possible, please contact the Sports Information office. Weekly Releases All Arkansas State weekly volleyball releases can be obtained as a PDF document on the athletics web site at AStateRedWolves.com. To be added to the list for all volleyball releases or if you would like the releases faxed to you, please contact Chris Graddy Sun Belt Standings West Division Team Conference Overall ASU NT Denver ULM ULL UALR far this season. That average also ranks 18th nationally. ATTACKING THE COMPETITION: The Red Wolves.654 attacking percentage against Alcorn State was its best of the season and just barely missed the all-time attacking percentage mark by a Red Wolf team, which was a.667 percentage against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in The percentage is the highest of any Red Wolf team since rally scoring was instituted in The mark also set the new Sun Belt Conference rally-scoring era record for team hitting percentage in a match by hitting at a.654 efficiency. The mark also ranks second in the SBC all-time record books. In the same match, ASU entered into a tie for third in the conference s rallyscoring charts for aces in a match with 19. ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Taylor Szupulski, Amanda Chaparro and Jasmine Terry were all named to the All-Tournament team at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational at Northwestern State University. Szypulski was also named tournament MVP. Cayla Fielder, Jasmine Terry and Allison Kearney were all named to the All- Tournament team at the Lipcomb Invitational. Fielder was also named tournament MVP. BASKA EARNS SECOND SBC DEFEN- SIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Sophomore libero Megan Baska earned her second Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the week award this year after helping the Arkansas State volleyball team post a 4-0 record last week, including a 3-0 mark at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational that was hosted Northwestern State University. The Red Wolves (9-5) have won five straight matches, including a sweep over Southeast Missouri State in their home opener on Oct. 13. Baska totaled 55 digs on the week, including 18 against SEMO and 25 against Central Arkansas. She averaged 5.00 digs per set on the weekend and added four assists and five aces. The Overland Park, Kan., native now East Division Team Conference Overall WKU FIU Troy USA MT FAU has 269 digs to her credit this season for an overall average of 4.98 per set, which ranks third in the conference. Baska has now been named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week six times during her career at ASU. Arkansas State will open Sun Belt Conference play this weekend when the Red Wolves travel to Middle Tennessee on Sept. 23 and Western Kentucky on Sept. 24. BASKA EARNS SBC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: The Sun Belt Conference announced that Arkansas State sophomore libero Megan Baska earned SBC Defensive Players of the Week honors for the week of Aug. 29 after setting a new career-high in digs at the Samford/UAB Invitational. Baska set a career-high with 40 digs against Alabama-Birmingham on Friday, missing the all-time ASU single match record by just five digs. She finished with 77 total digs and averaged 5.92 digs per set over the Red Wolves three matches. Her 12 digs against Akron led A-State to 3-0 victory over the Lady Zips, while she added 25 digs against Samford. BASKA MOVES INTO THIRD PLACE IN SBC RECORD BOOK: In just her second match of the season, Arkansas State s Megan Baska moved into the Sun Belt Conference rally-scoring era record books. Against UAB, the sophomore put up 40 digs in the five-set match to move into third place for total digs in a match. The mark was also a career-high for the 2011 Preseason and 2010 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the year, coming up just five short of ASU s all-time single match record for digs. She finished with 77 digs in three matches, good for a 5.92 digs per set average Baska, Fielder Earn SBC Preseason Honors; Red Wolves Picked Second in Preseason Coaches Poll: In preparation for the start of the women s volleyball season, the Sun Belt Conference released its preseason awards, all-conference team and coaches poll Wednesday morning. Arkansas State sophomore Megan

3 SUN BELT CONFERENCE PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL POLL EAST 1. Middle Tenessee - 66 Points (6 First Place Votes) 1. Western Kentucky - 66 Points (6 First Place Votes) 3. FIU - 48 Points 4. South Alabama - 28 Points 5. Florida Atlantic - 26 Points 6. Troy - 18 Points WEST 1. North Texas - 65 Points (7 First Place Votes) 2. Arkansas State - 60 Points (4 First Place Votes) 3. Denver - 52 Points (1 First Place Votes) 4. Louisiana-Lafayette - 34 Points 5. UALR - 29 Points 6. Louisiana-Monroe - 12 Points PRESEASON ALL-SBC TEAM Cayla Fielder, Arkansas State Jovana Bjelica, FIU Andrea Lakovic, FIU Ashley Adams, Middle Tennessee Maria Szivos, Middle Tennesse Tiffany Elmore, Western Kentucky Jordyn Skinner, Western Kentucky Melane Stutsman, Western Kentucky Preseason Player of the Year Maria Szivos, Middle Tennesse Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Megan Baska, Arkansas State Baska was named the 2011 SBC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while ASU senior Cayla Fielder was selected to her third-straight preseason All-SBC team. The Red Wolves were picked to finish second in the West Division in the preseason coaches poll, as voted on by the league s 12 head coaches. Baska was named the SBC Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 after an impressive freshman season. She was named SBC Player of the Week four times, selected as a Collegiate Volleyball Top Performer of the Week and named a Rising Star of the 2010 freshman class. She totaled 564 digs, ranking her seventh on the ASU single-season digs chart and led the league with a 5.08 digs per set average, which also ranked 37th nationally. The preseason honors awarded to both Megan and Cayla are great for our program and shows they are individually respected by other coaches in the league based on last year s performances, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. We will certainly use this as momentum and look forward to competing in the upcoming matches this Friday and Saturday. Fielder's selection to the preseason All- SBC team marks the third of her career. She was named to the All-SBC Team following the 2009 and 2010 seasons and led the Red Wolves with 332 kills in 2010, leaving her just four shy of 1,000 for her career. Her 3.73 kills per set average was second best in the conference and she ranked third on the team with 48 total blocks. Fielder was named the 2008 Freshman of the Year and earned Second Team All-SBC honors that same season. The Red Wolves received 60 points in the poll with four first place votes, while North Texas topped the West Division with 65 points. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky totaled 66 points each to lead the East Division. NEW FACES: The Red Wolves welcome three newcomers to the squad this season. Freshman A Zlynn Thompson joins the Red Wolves from Dodge City, Kansas, while freshman Marie Hadar comes from Humboldt, Iowa. Junior Amanda Chaparro joins the team from Baymon, Puerto Rico after spending the last two seasons with Western Carolina. Head Coach Justin Ingram: Justin Ingram enters his third year as head coach of the Red Wolves for the 2011 season, boasting back-to-back Sun Belt Conference West Division Co-Championships in his first two seasons at A-State. His overall record stands at (.629). Ingram became the sixth head coach in ASU Volleyball history in 2009, and his Red Wolves'.667 winning percentage that season was the highest ASU has seen since the 2004 season. He led A-State to a 12-6 (.667) conference record and a 10-1 (.909) record in home matches, also the highest percentage since Two of Ingram's 2009 Red Wolves garnished postseason conference honors including the SBC Defensive Player of the Year award, and ASU chalked up six SBC Player of the Week accolades that year. The 2010 season was just as successful for Ingram and the Red Wolves as they went (.586) and 11-5 (.687) in SBC action to once again capture a share of the West Division. Two players again collected post-season league awards, including the Defensive Player of the Year honor for the second consecutive year. His squad also collected five SBC Player of the Week awards during the season. Ingram came to ASU after serving eight years as an assistant coach at Kansas State. During his time at Kansas State, he served as the recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator for the Wildcats who posted a record and made seven NCAA tournament appearances during his time with the program. Ingram served the previous two years as an assistant coach at the University of Houston. He served as a junior college recruiting coordinator, travel coordinator and assistant director of camps. The Cougars posted a record and made back-toback NCAA tournament appearances and posted consecutive 20-win seasons in 1998 and The Cougars were the Conference USA National Division Runners-up in 1998 and C-USA National Division Champions in During his career, Ingram has helped lead teams to nine NCAA Tournament ap- Arkansas State Quick Facts Location: Jonesboro, Ark. Enrollment:13,448 Nickname: Red Wolves Colors: Scarlet & Black Conference: Sun Belt Arena: ASU Convocation Center (10,727) Head Coach: Justin Ingram Overall Record: Record at ASU: Same

4 pearances including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in He has coached eight All- America selections, 22 All-Big 12 selections, 55 Academic All-Big 12 players, six All-Conference USA selections, four Big 12 Libero of the Year winners, a Big 12 Player of the Year, a Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and a C-USA Player of the Year. Ingram earned his bachelor's degree in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University in 1995 and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in ASSISTANT COACH SHAWN TAY- LOR: Shawn Taylor will return for his second season as an assistant coach with the ASU Volleyball program in "I feel fortunate to have attracted Shawn to Arkansas State," said Ingram. "He is a very knowledgeable and hard working coach who understands the demands it takes to be successful." Taylor came to Arkansas State from Independence Community College in Independence, Kan. where he served as the head coach for the 2009 season. Prior to working at ICC, he coached as an assistant at Valparaiso and spent the 2007 season as the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan University. Taylor was a volunteer assistant coach at Kansas State for three seasons and served as the head women's junior varsity and a men's assistant coach at Graceland University from Taylor also apprentice coached with the U.S. national team in Taylor earned his master's degree in college student personnel from Kansas State and his bachelor's degree in liberal studies from Graceland. He played for the Graceland Yellowjackets from LOOKING AHEAD TO 2011: Excitement is high entering the 2011 season for the Arkansas State volleyball team. Head Coach Justin Ingram led the Red Wolves to their second straight share of the Sun Belt Conference Western Conference Division championship last season and with just one player lost from last year s team ASU is poised to make another run at the title this season. Elevean players return from last year s squad that finished including senior Cayla Fielder. The former SBC Freshman of the Year finished the 2010 campaign with 332 kills, leaving her just four shy of 1,000 for her career. She was named SBC Player of the Week during the final week of regular season and helped the Red Wolves go 3-0 heading into the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Sophomore Megan Baska will return as the team s libero after turning one of the most impressive seasons for a libero in ASU history. Baska earned SBC Defensive Player of the Year honors, was named SBC Player of the Week four times and was selected as a Collegiate Volleyball Update Top Performer of the Week and Rising Star of the 2010 freshmen class. Baska also amassed 564 digs last season, putting her seventh all-time on the ASU single-season career digs list. Her 5.08 digs per set average ranked 37th nationally and she set a season high with 34 digs against Northwestern State. Engram enters his third season at ASU having collected a career record. He will be joined by assistant coach Shawn Taylor, who is entering his second year with the Red Wolves volleyball team. Jessica Hohl will serve as the graduate assistant coach and Dean Torgerson will be a volunteer assistant coach. ASU will open the 2011 season with three straight tournament appearances. The first will be Aug in Birmingham, Ala., to compete in a tournament hosted by Samford University. The Red Wolves will then travel to Nasvhille, Tenn., Sept. 2-3 to compete in a tournament hosted by Liscomb University. ASU will wrap up its three tournament swing by traveling to Springfield, Mo., to compete the Missouri State tournament Sept In all the Red Wolves will have travled over 1,500 miles in three weekends before returning home to play Southeast Missouri State Sept. 13 in the home opener. On Sept the Red Wolves will travel to Natchitoches, La., to compete in a tournament at Northwestern State University and will open Sun Belt Conference play Sept. 23 against defending SBC champions Middle Tennessee State. The team will travel to Bowling Green, Ky., on Sept. 24th for a match against Western Kentucky before returning home for its longest home-stand of the year. ASU will host UALR Sept. 27 for an in-state battle and will play South Alabama Spet. 30 in Jonesboro to close out the month. Troy, Denver and North Texas will travel to the Natural State for matches on Oct. 1, 7 and 8 respectfully before the Red Wolves return to the road for their next three matches. ASU will travel to Little Rock Oct. 14 to play UALR followed by a trip to Florida to play Florida International Oct. 21 and Florida Atlantic Oct. 22. ASU will return home for its final two home games of the season to host a pair of Louisiana schools. The Red Wolves will host Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 28 followed by Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 29. The team will be on the road for the remainder of the season. ASU will travel to North Texas Nov. 4 followed by a crosscountry trip to Colorado Nov. 6 to play Denver. ASU will conclude regular season play in Louisiana against ULL Nov. 11 followed by ULM Nov. 13. This year s Sun Belt Conference tournament will be in Miama, Fla., Nov ASU WINS SBC HOME OPENER: JONESBORO, Ark. (9/27/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated in-state Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas-Little Rock 17-25, 25-20, 25-17, on Tuesday night at the HPESS Facility. The Red Wolves (11-6, 2-1 SBC) fell behind in set one but rallied to win the next three to take the first of two matchups against the Lady Trojans (5-12, 0-3) this season. ASU has now won five-straight matches over UALR and improved to in the all-time series. The Lady Trojans jumped out to an early lead in set one thanks to an impressive.696 attacking percentage. A-State rebounded in set two and scored five straight points to build a edge. Following a timeout, UALR closed the gap to but ASU pulled away for a victory. I felt like it took us a while to get going, but honestly Arkansas-Little Rock was just phenomenal in that first set, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. As the match went on thankfully they settled down a little bit and we got to score more points in a row off of our serve. We need that to spread the lead and really have any success. ASU controlled the pace for much of set three, jumping out to a edge. Cayla Fielder added three of her match 12 kills in the set. The senior finished with a season-high.647 attacking percentage, added three digs and four block assists. In the fourth set the Lady Trojans held a lead but the Red Wolves worked quickly to erase the deficit. Back-to-back kills from Jasmine Terry and Amanda Chaparro closed the gap to and a ball handling error on the Lady Trojans tied the score. After a timeout, UALR regained the lead at 16-15, but a kill from Terry tied the score again. An attacking on UALR put ASU up and the Red Wolves never trailed again in set. I think our team is really molding right now, Ingram said. We have some confidence and we are playing some really tough teams and having some success

5 against them. We are with fight in the team and the consistency that we are seeing. Taylor Szypulski finished with 11 kills and six digs for the Red Wolves, while Terry finished with 11 kills and a.476 attacking percentage. Megan Baska led the team with 10 digs and Allison Kearney had 46 assists, seven digs and two service aces. ASU will continue its five match home stand Friday, Sept. 30 against South Alabama followed by a match Saturday, Oct. 1 against Troy. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. and both will played in the HPESS Facility. ASU Drops SBC Match to Western Kentucky: Bowling Green, Ky. (9/24/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team dropped its first Sun Belt Conference match of the season with a 25-21, 25-14, loss to Western Kentucky. Arkansas State (10-6, 1-1 SBC) struggled to defend the Lady Hilltoppers (15-1, 2-0) attacking offense and fell behind early. Late in the first set ASU closed the score to 20-18, but could pull no closer as Western Kentucky won the set In the second set ASU struggled to get its attack going it quickly fell behind 20-9 and could not recover. In the third set the Lady Hilltoppers again jumped out to an early lead that the Red Wolves could not recover from. Western Kentucky presented an offense that is irregular and difficult to defend, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. Our inability to control their hitters posed serious problems for our point scoring and transition game. Cayla Fielder led ASU with nine kills and a.316 attacking percentage. Megan Baska added 11 digs and Allison Kearney finished with 27 assists. ASU will return to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 27 against Arkansas-Little Rock at the HPESS. ASU Volleyball Wins Fifth-Straight Match: Murfreesboro, Tenn. (9/23/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team opened Sun Belt Conference play on Friday night with a thrilling 23-25, 25-14, 30-28, 19-25, victory over Middle Tennessee. The win pushed the A-State winning streak to six -straight matches and marked the first win for ASU (10-5, 1-0 SBC) over Middle Tennessee (2-9, 0-1) since In the fifth set the Red Wolves fought off back-to-back match points and rallied to tie the game at The Blue Raiders also had match point opportunities at and but also failed to convert on those opportunities. The Red Wolves rallied once again to take an lead, but also failed to put away the match. With the score tied at 18-18, a service error from the Blue Raiders setup another match point for ASU and an attack error on the next serve gave ASU the victory and snapped a 10-match losing streak to the Blue Raiders. When it was 11-all I think it s safe to say both sides viewed it as a race to get four points, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. It s a tough thing to do to fight off that many match points in a tough environment on the road and I thought we did a good job of fighting off those points. The Red Wolves were paced by their middle attackers Cayla Fielder and Ashley Tipps. Fielder finished with 20 kills, her second highest total of the season, and a.378 attacking percentage. Tipps added 19 kills and had a season best.692 attacking percentage. Our middle attackers were just outstanding tonight, Ingram said. We had 39 kills between Fielder and Tipps and not only are we getting them the ball a lot they are continually bailing us out of pressure situations. Middle Tennessee won the first set thanks in large to nine attacking errors from the Red Wolves. ASU bounced back in the second with a and battled the Blue Raiders to a in set three. Fielder had six kills in the third set, while Tipps added five in ASU s longest set of the year. The Red Wolves held a lead late in the set, but Middle Tennessee fought back to tie the score at A- State had six set point opportunities in the game before finally converting on their seventh attempt on a kill from Tipps. Middle Tennessee won the fourth set to push to the match to a fifth set. Allison Kearney finished with a seasonhigh 54 assists, while three Red Wolves reached double figures in digs. Megan Baska and Kearney each had 14, while Amanda Chaparro added 10. Jasmine Terry finished with six block assists on the night, while Fielder added five. ASU Volleyball Wins Fifth Straight Match: NATCHITOCHES, La. (9/17/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team completed an undefeated weekend at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational by defeating host Northwestern State 25-16, 25-19, on Saturday afternoon. This marks ASU s second tournament of the year in which they have gone undefeated. The first occurred Sept. 2-3 in Nashville, Tenn., at the Lipscomb Invitational. This also marked the Red Wolves fifth straight victory after defeating Hofstra on Sept. 10 Southeast Missouri State at home on Sept. 13 and Alcorn State and Central Arkansas on Friday. A-State (9-5) was fueled in the match by Taylor Szypulski who finished 11 kills and personal season-high.550 attacking percentage. She was also named to the all-tournament and was named tournament MVP. Jasmine Terry and Amanda Chaparro were also named to the all-tournament team. We knew coming into today's match that Northwestern State is an aggressive serving team and we would be challenged, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. We handled their serving pressure well and made it difficult for them to sideout with our low-flat serves and big blocking presence. In the second set Szypulski had five kills, one block and a dig to help ASU to a victory. The Red Wolves and Lady Demons (3-10) were tied at 16-16, but ASU scored the next six points to push the lead to A kill from Cayla Fielder made the score and an attack error from Northwestern State setup set point for A-State. Szypulski put the set away with a kill to give ASU a 2-0 lead in the match. In the third set ASU grabbed the moment early and jumped out to a 16-8 behind the play of Szypulski. The red shirt freshman finished with five kills, two aces, two digs and one block assist in the set the power the Red Wolves attack. ASU won all of its games in three sets on the weekend, marking the first time the Red Wolves had accomplished the feat since 2009 when they did at the ASU Invitational. Szypulski led A-State attack with 11 kills. She also added five digs, two aces and two solo blocks. Fielder finished personal season-high four solo blocks and three block assists. Allison Kearney added 19 assists and Megan Baska had 10 digs. We feel great about another 3-0 win to conclude our pre-conference season and are excited to begin Sun Belt play this Friday, Ingram said. ASU will open Sun Belt Conference play on the road against Middle Tennessee on Friday, Sept. 23. HOLIDAY IN EXPRESS ALL-TOURNA- MENT TEAM Taylor Szypulski (ASU) - MVP Amanda Chaparro (ASU)

6 Jasmine Terry (ASU) Lindsey Barron (UCA) Marissa Collins (UCA) Stacey DiFrancesco (NSU) Emily Sweet (NSU) ASU Volleyball Sweeps Alcorn State, UCA: NATCHITOCHES, La. (9/16/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team picked a pair victories over Alcorn State and Central Arkansas after the first day of play at the Holiday In Express Invitational on the campus of Northwestern State University. The Red Wolves swept Alcorn State 25-4, 25-5, 25-4 in the morning first match and then ended the day with a 25-20, 25-19, sweep over Central Arkansas. ASU is now 5-0 in matches that have gone just three sets this season. Against Alcorn State the Red Wolves (8-5) finished with a season-high 19 aces, just three off the all-time record for aces in a single match by an ASU team set in 2007 against Centenary. Allison Kearney set a season-high with seven aces. Kelsie Hodge, Megan Baska and Sadie Clark finished with three aces each. Arkansas State never trailed in any set against Alcorn State and was led by Taylor Coughlin s eight kills. She also finished with a.571 attacking percentage, while Hodges finished a.714 percentage. "Today was a very good win for our volleyball program. Central Arkansas has had a lot of success the past few years and just came off a significant BIG 10 win last weekend," ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. "We were pleased with our performance and had several players with key roles in this victory. Our ability to serve aggressive and stay there for a while is important and Allison and Amanda were terrific for us." Against UCA the Red Wolves relied on solid defense and strong play at the net to come away with a three-set sweep. ASU battled the bears throughout the first set before eventually pulling away. UCA held a lead, but ASU scored 10 of the next points 14 points to earn the victory. In the second set the Red Wolves again made a run late in the set to earn the win. ASU held a lead and put the set away by scoring the final five points to pick up the win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the third set A-State played strong defense put the match away with kills from Hodges, Amanda Chaparro and Jasmine Terry. Taylor Szypulski led ASU in the match with 12 kills, while Cayla Fielder and Terry each finished with nine. Kearney led the team with 22 assists, while Megan Baska paced the team defensively with 25 digs. ASU Volleyball Wins Home Opener: JONESBORO, Ark. (9/13/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated Southeast Missouri State 25-15, 25-23, in its home opener at the HPESS Facility on Tuesday night as Cayla Fielder continued her march up the ASU record books. The senior is now tied with Pip Soulsby for ninth-place all-time on the Arkansas State kills list with 1,144. She finished the night 11 kills and paced the Red Wolves in their three-set sweep over Southeast Missouri State. In the first set A-State (6-5) jumped out to an early 10-5 lead and the Red Hawks (2-9) never recovered. Ashley Tipps and Fielder paced the Red Wolves at the net. Tipps finished with five kills in the set, while Fielder added to help ASU cruise to a victory. I was real happy with how we handled what SEMO was throwing at us, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. I was happy about how we competed and we certainly had our middle attack going tonight. ASU held a edge in the second set, but the Redhawks closed the gap to late in the set. A kill from Tipps pushed the lead to 23-21, but SEMO answered with a kills of its own to close the lead to one. Jasmine Terry gave the Red Wolves a set point opportunity with a kill and an attack error from SEMO gave ASU the set and a 2-0 match lead. In the third set ASU trailed 10-9 but an ace from Allison Kearney and back-to-back attacking errors from SEMO gave the Red Wolves a lead that they would not surrender. Later in the set ASU scored seven straight points to push the lead to 23-14, and Fielder gave ASU a match point opportunity with her 11th kill of the night. An attack error from SEMO gave the Red Wolves the set and the match. We really came out with a lot of energy after that 10 minute break, Fielder said of the third set. If our defensive players get an awesome dig it just makes us want to get a kill even more because of the effort they put out for the dig. Tipps led the Red Wolves with 12 kills, while Fielder finished with 11. Megan Baska paced the defense with 18 digs, while Allison Kearney led the team with 25 assists. A Zlynn Thompson also chipped in with 10 assists. ASU Volleyball Takes Five-Set Victory over Hofstra: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (9/9/11) - The Arkansas State volleyball team wrapped up play at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational on the campus of Missouri State with a 25-15, 25-21, 14-25, 19-25, victory over Hofstra on Saturday. After winning the first two sets, Hofstra battled back to win the next two to force a fifth-set. In the final set ASU jumped out to an early 10-6 lead behind the play of Ashley Tipps who had three kills in the set. Hofstra closed the gap to 11-9 but ASU scored four of the final six points to take the set and the match. "We feel fortunate to walk away unscathed," ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. "Although our offensive is lacking consistency, we are high enough and powerful enough to compete with anyone. In the first set A-State jumped out to a lead and quickly pushed the advantage to behind the play of Cayla Fielder, who finished with four kills in the set. In the second set Tipps led the charge with five kills to give the Red Wolves a 2-0 edge in the match. Hofstra bounced back in the third set, earning a victory and pulled away late in the fourth set to push the match to a decisive fifth set. Tipps led ASU with 16 kills, while Taylor Szypulski finished with 11 kills and 12 digs. Megan Baska led the team with 23 digs and Allison Kearney finished with 34 assists and 10 digs. A Zlynn Thompson added 12 assists on the night. ASU will host its first home match of the season at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13 against Southeast Missouri State in the HPESS building. ASU DROPS ROAD MATCHES AGAINST SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AND MISSOURI STATE: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (9/8/11) - The Arkansas State volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational on the campus of Missouri State University on Friday. South Dakota State defeated the Red Wolves 26-28, 25-21, 18-25, 30-28, in the day s first match, followed by a 26-28, 25-23, 25-21, loss to Missouri State in the nightcap. ASU trailed Missouri State in the first set, but slowly began chipping away at the Lady Bears' lead. Taylor Szypulski closed the gap to with a kill, but Missouri State inched ahead once again and held a lead to setup two set points scenarios. The Lady Bears failed to convert on both opportunities and the Red Wolves took advantage. Cayla Fielder gave A-State (4-5) its

7 first lead of the set with a kill and a service ace from Amanda Chaparro gave the Red Wolves a comeback victory in the first set. However, ASU failed to carry the momentum over into the next set. Missouri State built a lead and the Red Wolves could not erase the deficit. In the third set, the two battled back-and-forth but the Lady Bears scored five of the set s final six points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. In the fourth set Missouri State pulled away late in the set again. The two teams were tied at 19-19, but the Lady Bears scored the next four points to take a lead. ASU pulled within 23-21, but Missouri State closed out the set by scoring the final two points to earn the four-set victory. Jasmine Terry led A-State in the match with 12 kills, while Szypulski added 10. Megan Baska and Chaparro paced the team with 14 digs each, while Allison Kearney led with the Red Wolves with 41 assists. She also had 12 digs. "I think we made errors at the wrong time," ASU volleyball coach Justing Ingram said of the Missouri State match. "However, we had really good stretches of volleyball and probably as good as we have had all year." Against South Dakota State the Red Wolves dropped a thrilling five-set match to the Lady Jack Rabbits. Late in the first set ASU trailed before rallying to tie the score at After fending off two set points, the Red Wolves took the lead. An attack error from South Dakota State gave ASU a edge and Fielder put the set away with a kill to give the Red Wolves a victory. South Dakota State won the second set 25-21, but ASU bounced back in third set behind a strong performance from Fielder and Baska. Fielder collected six kills in the set, while Baska added 10 digs to give ASU a 2-1 lead in the match. In the fourth set ASU led and was serving for match point, but failed to convert on the opportunity and allowed the Lady Jack Rabbits to tie the score at After trading points, ASU fought off a match point opportunity from South Dakota State to tie the score at 28-28, but the Lady Jack Rabbits converted on the set s final two points to come away with the set victory and tie the match at 2-2. "We are getting very close to becoming a very dangerous team," ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. "We had three match points against South Dakota State and it was disappointing to lose in five. We have to learn how to finish matches and to take advantage of opportunities in front of us." South Dakota State carried the momentum into the fifth set and quickly built a 12-8 lead. The Red Wolves pulled within 13-10, but the Lady Jack Rabbits pulled away for a victory. Fielder led ASU with 24 kills, while Terry finished with 16. Baska led the team defensively with 36 digs, while Chaparro and Shelby Crncic each finished with 10 digs. Kearney led the team with 46 assists, while A Zlynn Thompson added 20. Szypulski finished with 13 kills and 15 digs ASU Volleyball Falls in St. Louis: St. Louis, Mo. (9/5/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team fell to Saint Louis University 26-24, 25-15, 16-25, in a nonconference matchup Monday afternoon. The Red Wolves (4-3), who came off an undefeated weekend in the Lipscomb Invitational, dropped their first two sets to the Billikens (3-1) and struggled to take advantage of scoring opportunities. We had plenty of opportunities today to come away with more set wins and did not take advantage of it, ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. Saint Louis served aggressive all match and made it difficult for our receivers to maintain consistent rhythm. There is no doubt we will recover quickly and prepare ourselves for this weekend s matches in Springfield. In the first set ASU led 24-22, but was unable to close out the victory and allowed Saint Louis to score the final four points to earn the first set victory. In set two the Billikens quickly built a 14-6 advantage that the Red Wolves were unable to recover from. Saint Louis won the set A-State found momentum in the middle of the third set and went on a five-point run to gain a edge. Cayla Fielder paced the Red Wolves with five kills in the frame, while Amanda Chaparro and Taylor Szypulski were strong defensively, each collecting five digs in the set. A-State could not carry the momentum over into the fourth set, however. The Billikens jumped out in front early and quickly held a 16-8 lead. ASU pulled within but could get no closer. Fielder led ASU with 12 kills, while Szypulski finished with nine. Allison Kearney had 19 assists and A Zlynn Thompson added 16 for the Red Wolves. Megan Baska led the squad with 14 digs and Chaparro had 11. ASU will return to action on Sept at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynne Invitational on the campus of Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. The Red Wolves will play South Dakota State on Friday at 10 a.m. followed by a match 7 p.m. against tournament host Missouri State. On Saturday A-State will play at 5 p.m. against Hofstra. A-State Volleyball takes Four-Set win over Lipscomb: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (9/3/11) The Arkansas State volleyball team completed an undefeated weekend at the Lipscomb Invitational with a 25-15, 26-24, 16-25, victory over Lipscomb on Saturday. The perfect weekend marks the first time the Red Wolves have gone undefeated in a tournament since 2009 when they accomplished the feat at both the ASU Invitational and the MSU Bulldog Invitational. Cayla Fielder earned tournament MVP honors after finishing the tournament with 37 kills, two aces, 10 blocks assists and 12 digs. Jasmine Terry and Allison Kearney were also named to the All-Tournament team. Terry finished the weekend with 31 kills, one ace and six digs while Kearney had 76 assists, 10 aces and 26 digs. I am very honored to be tournament MVP and I always try to play hard when I go out on the floor, Fielder said. Every time I get an award like that I am proud of myself and proud of my teammates because I know I wouldn t be able to win those awards if it wasn t for them. A-State never trailed in the first set and quickly jumped out to an lead. Megan Baska, Amanda Chaparro and A Zlynn Thompson were strong defensively for the Red Wolves, each collecting four digs in the frame. In the second set Taylor Szypulski and Terry helped ASU battle back from deficit. Terry notched back-to-back kills to close the gap to and Szypulski finished off the set with three straight kills to give the Red Wolves a win and 2-0 edge in the match. When both team start getting past that 20-point stage it is time to push, Terry said. All weekend when we found ourselves in those situations we pushed through and it was definitely a thrill and exciting to push through sets like the fourth set. Lipscomb jumped out in front early in the third set and built a lead the Red Wolves could not recover from. ASU pulled within but the Lady Bisons scored the set s final five points to secure the win. In the fourth set ASU trailed before rallying to tie the score at Led by Fielder, who had three kills in the team s final six points, A-State earned a victory to win the set and the match.

8 Fielder and Szypulski led ASU with 11 kills each in the match, while Chaparro and Terry added 10 each. Kearney added 27 assists and Thompson finished with 16. Baska led the defense with 18 digs, while Chaparro added 14. Arkansas State will be back in action Monday, Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. against the University of Saint Louis. Lipscomb Invitational All-Tournament Team Cayla Fielder, ASU MVP Jasmine Terry, ASU Allison Kearney, ASU Kate Rose, Lipscomb Stephanie Rex, Lipscomb Amanda Videmsek, Charlotte Kelsey Gray, Tennessee Tech ASU Volleyball Tops Charlotte, Tennessee Tech: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (9/2/11) - The Arkansas State volleyball picked up a pair of victories over Charlotte and Tennessee Tech at the 2011 Lipscomb Invitational on Friday. The Red Wolves earned a 25-13, 24-26, 25-16, 23-25, victory over the 49ERS and then topped the Golden Eagles in a 25-21, 29-27, sweep. Against Charlotte Allison Kearney helped ASU (3-2) build a 20-9 advantage in the first set by collecting six aces on her first 10 serves. In the second set the Red Wolves led but failed to secure the win as the 49ERS scored the set's final seven points to earn the come from behind victory. In the third set the Red Wolves again jumped out to an early lead and took the victory and 2-1 advantage in the match. The two squads battled back-andforth in the fourth set and ASU held a 20-15, but the 49ERS battled back and eventually won to force a final set. In the fifth set A-State quickly took an 11-6 edge behind a strong effort from Ashley Tipps. The sophomore collected four kills in the frame and to help the Red Wolves win the set and the match. Taylor Szypulski led ASU with 13 kills, while Jasmine Terry (12), Amanda Chaparro (10) and Cayla Fielder (10) all recorded double-digit kill totals. Kearney led the team with six aces and 25 assists, while A'Zlynn Thompson finished with 21 assists. Megan Baska had 15 digs, while Chaparro had 11 digs. "After a long day of matches, we certainly walked away with earned victories," ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. "Points were given in bunches all day and our service game needed to be sharp and it was. Allison Kearney was tremendous and got our opponents continuously. Cayla, Tipps and Jasmine helped lift our offense and we relied on them to finish the play." Against Tennessee Tech the Red Wolves battled the Golden Eagles in the first two sets before finding a rhythm in set three. Fielder led the charge in the first set with six kills, while Kearney provided three aces from the service line in a victory. In the second set A-State trailed a kill from Szupulski and back-to-back kills from Fielder tied the set a After trading points to push the score to 27-27, Kearney gave A-State a lead with an ace and Fielder put the set away with a kill to give the Red Wolves a 2-0 lead in the match. ASU jumped to an early led in the third set and carried that momentum through to earn the 3-0 sweep over the Golden Eagles. Fielder led ASU with 16 kills and finished with a.462 attacking percentage. Kearney finished with 24 kills and four aces, while Thompson added 14 assists. Baska led the team with 17 digs and Chaparro added 12 digs. "Tomorrow we will face a talented Lipscomb team and need to be more consistent than we were today to earn a win," Ingram said. ASU will return to the floor on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against tournament host Lipscomb. A-State Volleyball Falls to Samford in Five-Sets: The Arkansas State volleyball team lost to Samford in five sets Saturday afternoon to conclude play at the Samford/UAB Invitational. Samford won the thrilling five set contest 15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, to give the Red Wolves (1-2) their second loss of the season. ASU led 12-8 in the fifth set, but the Lady Bulldogs won seven of the next eight points to earn the victory. "We need more production out of our pin hitters and setters in order to feel better about our level of play," ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. "Being ahead 12-8 in the 5th set and taking the loss is incredibly difficult to swallow, but we plan on regrouping quickly to get back into our offensive rhythms at practice on Monday." Arkansas State opened the match strong and jumped to an 18-6 advantage in the first set. Samford (3-0) pulled within but the Red Wolves won the final two points including a service from newcomer Amanda Chaparro on set point to earn the victory. The Lady Bulldogs fought back in sets two and three to take a 2-1 lead, but ASU edged out a win in set four to push the match to a decisive fifth set. Cayla Fielder led Arkansas State with 16 kills and two blocks, while Ashley Tipps added 14 kills. Jasmine Terry finished 13 kills, while Allison Kearney led the team with 30 assists. A Zlynn Thompson had 16 assists, while Megan Baska led the squad with 25 digs. Taylor Szypulski added 13 digs and Amanda Chaparro had 11 digs. ASU will return to action Sept. 2-3 in Nashville, Tenn. at the Lipscomb Tournament. The Red Wolves will take on Charlotte and Tennessee Tech on Sept. 2 followed host Lipscomb on Sept. 3. ASU Volleyball Sweeps Akron, Falls in Five Sets to UAB: The Arkansas State volleyball team opened the 2011 season with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, ) sweep over Akron before falling to Alabama-Birmingham 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-12) after the first day of play the Samford/UAB Invitational. The Red Wolves (1-1) opened the tournament with a victory over Akron behind a solid performance from Cayla Fielder. The senior finished with 12 kills, which put her over 1,000 kills in her career as a Red Wolf. Taylor Szypulski finished with 10 kills and 10 digs, while sophomore libero Megan Baska added 12 digs. Allison Kearney had 22 assists and Jasmine Terry finished with 11 assists. A'Zlynn Thompson added 11 assists in her first match as a Red Wolf. In set one ASU trailed before rallying behind Fielder and Szypulski to tie the set at 22. Syzpulski gave the Red Wolves a lead and Shelby Crncic followed with back-to-back kills to give ASU a set point opportunity. A service error gave the Red Wolves the victory and the squad took the momentum into sets two and three to complete the sweep. In the Red Wolves second match of the day the team fell to UAB despite fighting off five straight match points in the deciding fifth set. UAB led 14-7, but the Red Wolves closed the gap to thanks to ball handling errors from the Lady Blazers and back-to-back kills from Szypulski. However, the rally fell short as UAB took the next point to close out the match. "The first tournament of every season is typically filled with nerves, limited scouting and inconsistencies," ASU volleyball coach Justin Ingram said. "Even though there were glimpses of great moments, we need to steady out tomorrow and play like we do each day at practice. Although Akron and UAB were both talented, Samford has tremendous offensive abilities and will require us to be better for longer

9 stretches in order to win." Baska led the team with 40 digs during the match and Allison Kearney led the way with 38 assists. Fielder finished with 18 kills, while Szypulski added 13 kills and 10 digs. Ashley Tipps finished with 15 digs and Jasmine Terry collected 10 kills. Crncic finished with 10 digs and two aces and Thompson finished with 18 assists. Arkansas State returns to action Saturday at 4 p.m. against Samford in the tournament finale.