Fort Worth, Texas (8/26/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team began the 2016 season with a successful 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) sweep over Northwestern State in the team's first match of the TCU Invitational at the University Recreation Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Red Wolves (1-0) hit .316 and held the Lady Demons (0-2) to a .042 attacking percentage, while senior setter Mallory Warrington registered a double-double with 37 assists and 11 digs. Carlisa May led the team with 14 kills on a .619 hitting percentage, while Markie Schaedig picked up 19 digs to lead the team.

“We had some pre-game and in-game jitters during the first game, but we were able to get over that,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “I thought we played very well and limited the mistakes against them and we were able to get ahead early and put the pressure on them. It was nice to get several of our players some time on the court. I really thought Shelby (Holmes) and Kenzie (Fields) played well along with the rest of the team. It's good to be 1-0, but we have two matches to prepare for tomorrow now.”

Both teams battled to a 6-6 score to open the match with a kill by May giving A-State a one-point edge to begin a 9-3 run to put the team on top 15-9 midway through game one. Northwestern State battled within three on a couple of occasions and was down 23-19 before kills by Drew Jones and Kelsey Reis sealed a 25-19 victory for Arkansas State in set one.

The Lady Demons began set two with a 3-1 advantage that A-State quickly erased with a 4-1 run capped with a kill from Holmes. The team wouldn't relinquish the lead the rest of the set and pulled ahead by 10 at 24-14 after a Northwestern State attack error. The Lady Demons earned the next point, but a kill by May clinched a 25-15 victory for the Red Wolves.

Fields began set three with a kill for A-State and the squad never trailed in game three despite Northwestern State getting within two points at 14-12 on a service error. However, the Red Wolves ended the set on an 11-4 run, capped by a Jessica Uke kill, to earn a 25-16 set win and 3-0 victory.

Reis continued her strong blocking from a season ago with four total blocks, including three block solos, while Jessica Heuertz had a solid defensive game with 11 digs. Jones was second in kills on the day with 11, while Holmes added six of her own.

The season-opening win for the Red Wolves was Coach Rehr's second in five tries, while the program improved to 27-15 all-time in season openers.

Arkansas State concludes play in the TCU Invitational Saturday with two matches. A-State will take on North Carolina State at 1 p.m., before squaring off with host TCU at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available on AStateStats.com. The match against TCU will be available on GoFrogs.com with a paid subscription.

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.