Jonesboro, AR – (Contributed) – Sept. 5, 2025 – Arkansas State volleyball (2-2, 0-0 SBC) rallied in the final two sets to record the first victory over a top 25 opponent in program history, defeating No. 16 Missouri (2-1, 0-0 SEC) 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11) on Thursday night inside First National Bank Arena.
Daedrianna Cail led the Red Wolves with a .500 hitting percentage, tallying 12 kills and five blocks along with two service aces. Kaitlin Whitlock recorded a team-high 19 kills while Devyn Lewis also reached double digits with 13.
As a team, A-State recorded 68 kills on a .287 percentage compared to the Tigers’ 56 on a .209 clip.
The opening set saw little separation, with Missouri opening a 10-7 advantage early before the Scarlet and Black tied the contest at 15-15. A-State fell behind by three points again before a kill from Whitlock paired with back-to-back attack errors erased the deficit.
A service error put the Red Wolves in front 24-23, but the Tigers claimed the next three rallies to take a 1-0 advantage.
Whitlock opened the next set with a kill that sparked an 8-3 run that grew to a 12-5 advantage. The lead was cut down to four before a service error, kills from Devyn Lewis and Haley Glunz, plus a service ace from Payton Van Veen resulted in a 20-11 score.
Both sides traded 4-0 scoring runs before the Red Wolves clinched the set via a 25-16 decision.
With one point making the difference in the first 17 rallies of the third set, the Tigers used another 4-0 scoring run to put the Scarlet and Black behind 13-8. Seven of the next nine rallies went against A-State’s favor, but a 5-1 run highlighted by two kills from Whitlock allowed the team to threaten before Missouri clinched the set 25-19.
The fourth set was highly competitive as neither side established a lead greater than two points until the last rally. A kill for the opposition resulted in an 18-16 deficit before kills from Whitlock and Addison Collum – along with a service ace from Erin Madigan in-between – erased it.
A service error allowed Missouri to tie the contest at 22-22, but a kill from Lewis followed by a pair of attack errors set up one final set.
Three kills from Whitlock plus two attack errors erased an 8-5 deficit in the fifth set and put the opposition on the brink of defeat. The next three rallies alternated between both sides but kills from Cail and Lewis followed by a service ace from the former made the score 14-10.
Lewis fired a shot through the Missouri defense in the next rally, securing the final kill and the victory. It is the Red Wolves’ first win against a nationally ranked opponent in eight tries.
NEXT UP
A-State concludes the two-game series against Missouri on Friday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. inside Blazer Arena on the campus of Valley View High School. The match can be viewed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available here.
