ST. LOUIS, Mo. (9/2/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated Saint Louis 3-1 (25-22, 15-25, 25-15, 25-23) in both teams' first match of the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic at Chaifetz Pavilion in St. Louis, Mo., Friday night.

The Red Wolves (3-1) and Billikens (1-4) battled to a 7-7 tie in the first set before a Saint Louis 6-0 run put the home team up 13-7. A-State called timeout and used an 11-4 run, capped by a block from Anna Murphy and Kenzie Fields, to take an 18-17 edge. SLU went ahead 20-19, but A-State ended the set on a 6-2 run, finished with the eight kill of the game by Drew Jones, to claim a 25-22 set win.

Saint Louis responded with a strong second set by jumping out to a 10-7 lead and a 15-8 advantage. A-State got within seven at 21-14 after an attack error by the Billikens, but SLU closed out the set on a 4-1 run for a 25-15 set victory to even things up.

Arkansas State regained the momentum in set three by racing out to a 10-7 advantage on a kill by Fields. A-State extended the lead to 19-12 on a kill by Murphy that forced the Billikens to call timeout. However, the stoppage didn't slow the Red Wolves down as the team closed on a 6-3 run, capped by a Lindsay Cline service ace, to win the set 25-15.

A-State opened set four the same way as set three with a 10-7 edge, but SLU battled back to within two at 14-12 after a block. The Red Wolves went ahead 24-20 on a kill by Fields, but once again the Billikens responded with three consecutive points to climb within one at 24-23. A-State called timeout and Shelby Holmes gave the team a 25-23 set win and 3-1 match victory with a kill.

“I was proud of how we fought back to win set one, but wasn't happy with set two's performance obviously,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We were able to right the ship after the intermission with set three and won a hard-fought game four.”

Carlisa May led the team with 15 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, while Murphy recorded 10 kills on a .438 attacking percentage. Mallory Warrington dished out 49 assists, while Markie Schaedig was tops on the squad with 17 digs. Kelsey Reis led the team with four blocks, including two block solos.

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.