DENTON, Texas--- Stan State volleyball battled through 10 sets in a pair of five-set matches Friday at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Corinth-Denton Volleyfest at Kitty Magee Arena. The Warriors fell to Westminster 19-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-23, 17-15 before returning to the court later Friday night and falling to Southern Arkansas 25-15, 22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 15-11.
Stan State (2-4) held a 2-1 lead in both matches before its opponents rallied to win the final two sets. The Warriors' match against Southern Arkansas began approximately three-and-a-half hours after its originally scheduled start due to earlier matches at the tournament running long.
Westminster 3, Stan State 2
Stan State opened the tournament with a five-set battle against Westminster, falling 19-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-23, 17-15. The Warriors twice held a one-set advantage before the Griffins (1-4) rallied to win the final two sets. The match featured 25 ties and 13 lead changes.
First Set
Stan State took the opening set 25-19 to grab an early 1-0 advantage. The Warriors recorded 13 kills on 33 attempts and hit .212 while limiting Westminster to a .059 hitting percentage. The Griffins finished with eight kills and six attack errors on 34 attempts. The set featured five ties and two lead changes before the Warriors pulled away for the six-point victory.
Second Set
Westminster answered with a 26-24 victory in a back-and-forth second set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes. Stan State finished with 12 kills, while Westminster recorded 14 kills and hit .297 to even the match at one set apiece.
Third Set
The Warriors responded with their most decisive victory of the match, taking the third set 25-16 to regain a 2-1 advantage. Stan State hit a match-best .250 with 10 kills while holding Westminster to eight kills and a .000 hitting percentage. The set featured no ties or lead changes.
Fourth Set
Westminster extended the match with a 25-23 victory in the fourth. Stan State recorded 13 kills and hit .195, while the Griffins also finished with 13 kills and hit .163. Westminster held on for the two-point victory to force a deciding fifth set.
Fifth Set
The deciding set went beyond 15 points before Westminster prevailed 17-15. Stan State recorded 10 kills and hit .212, while Westminster turned in its best offensive set of the match with 11 kills, two errors and a .300 hitting percentage. The fifth featured five ties and four lead changes.
WARRIOR NOTABLES
- Lauren Gonzales recorded a career-high 13 kills and added 14 digs for her first collegiate double-double.
- Maggie Olson recorded a season-high 11 kills without an attack error in 22 attempts for a team-best .500 hitting percentage.
- Reagan Wilkerson recorded her first double-double of the season and fourth of her career with a career-high 30 assists and 13 digs.
- Leah Mendoza led the Warriors with 15 digs while adding nine assists and two service aces.
- Stan State held advantages in kills (58-54), digs (71-64) and total blocks (13-12).
- The Warriors held Westminster to a .000 hitting percentage in their 25-16 third-set victory.
- Stan State and Westminster are now tied 1-1 in the all-time series.
Southern Arkansas 3, Stan State 2
Stan State went five sets for the second time Friday, falling to Southern Arkansas 25-15, 22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 15-11. The Warriors bounced back after dropping the opening set to win the next two before the Muleriders (2-4) took the fourth and fifth sets. The match featured 22 ties and eight lead changes.
First Set
Southern Arkansas used an early 8-0 run to build a 9-1 lead and never relinquished control in a 25-15 victory. Stan State fought off four set points with a late run that included a
Laila Greene kill and back-to-back blocks by Greene and
Lauren Hamilton. The Muleriders hit .231 while holding the Warriors to .077.
Second Set
Stan State responded with a 25-22 victory in a set that featured seven ties and three lead changes. The Warriors broke a 19-19 tie with two straight points before a
Laila Greene kill helped extend the lead to 23-20.
Fallon Freeman brought Stan State to set point with a kill before Greene finished the frame. The Warriors recorded 15 kills and hit .244.
Third Set
The Warriors took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-19 victory. With Stan State leading 12-11, the Warriors used a 5-1 run highlighted by kills from Greene,
Reagan Wilkerson and
Soraya Forbes to build a 17-12 advantage. Freeman had three kills down the stretch before Hamilton closed the set with a kill. Stan State hit .231 while holding Southern Arkansas to .029.
Fourth Set
Southern Arkansas answered with a 25-17 victory to force a fifth set. The Muleriders turned an early 1-1 tie into a 10-2 advantage and later led 23-11. Stan State responded with a late 6-1 run highlighted by an
Ireland Avalos ace and kills from Greene, Freeman and
Lauren Gonzales, but Southern Arkansas held on to even the match.
Fifth Set
The deciding set featured eight ties and two lead changes. Stan State took a 7-5 lead behind a
Rylee Szyszka ace and
Emily Meyer kill before Southern Arkansas pulled even.
Maggie Olson gave the Warriors a 10-9 advantage, and Hamilton put Stan State ahead 11-10, but the Muleriders scored the final five points to take the set 15-11 and the match 3-2.
WARRIOR NOTABLES
- Gonzales recorded 12 kills and a career-high 21 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
- Avalos recorded 18 assists and 15 digs for her first double-double as a Warrior.
- Greene finished with 12 kills and three blocks.
- Freeman recorded eight kills while hitting a team-best .316 and added five digs and two blocks.
- Wilkerson finished with 21 assists and 11 digs.
- Stan State played its second consecutive five-set match and its second five-setter of the season.
- Friday's match was the first meeting between Stan State and Southern Arkansas.
Up Next
Stan State concludes play at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Corinth-Denton Volleyfest with two matches on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Warriors face unbeaten Southern Nazarene (8-0) at 1:30 p.m. CT before closing the tournament against host Texas Woman's University at 5:30 p.m. CT. Texas Woman's enters Saturday at 1-5 and will face Southern Arkansas earlier in the day before taking on the Warriors. Both Stan State matches will be played at Kitty Magee Arena and can be seen live on FloCollege.
Following the Denton Volleyfest, the Warriors begin CCAA play with a pair of road matches. Stan State opens conference play Thursday, Sept. 10, at Cal Poly Humboldt at 5 p.m. in Arcata before traveling to Cal State Dominguez Hills for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Carson.
