LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The South Alabama volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (14-30, 27-30, 22, 30) decision to UALR Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center in Sun Belt Conference action.

The Jags (7-12, 2-8 SBC) will now take on Arkansas State Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., in Jonesboro.  With the win UALR improves to 13-7 on the season and 5-3 in conference play.  The Trojans also remain perfect at home with the victory.

Junior middle blocker Brittany Blackwelder and Hristina Markova led South Alabama offensively on the night with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while UALR was paced by Anita Bucur (14) and Amila Barakovic (11).  For the match, the Trojans were a blistering .363 in the attack percentage category.

GAME ONE: UALR 30, South Alabama 14

Holding an 8-6 lead in the opener, UALR took control when the Trojans exploded for a 17-1 run, including a stretch of 13 unanswered points.  Barakovic led the UALR scoring spurt with all five of her game one kills and Ivanka Davidova capped off the run with a pair of aces that put the Trojans up 25-7.  UALR went on to take the first contest 30-14.  The Jag offense hurt didn’t help itself as USA recorded a -.240 hitting percentage. 

GAME TWO: UALR 30, South Alabama 27

Like in the opener, UALR grabbed lead from the outset.  With the Trojans holding a 17-11 advantage after a Bucur kill, South Alabama began to claw its way back.  After narrowing the margin to as little as two on four occasions, Markova finally brought the Jags to within one at 24-23 with a put away of her own.  South Alabama was able to get as close one four more times down the stretch, but could not get over the hump as UALR went on to take a 2-0 match lead with the 30-27 win. In game two, the Jag offense bounced back after its game one performance to record a hitting percentage of .250, but the Trojans hit .364 in the second game.

GAME THREE: UALR 30, South Alabama 22

Game three was a tight contest for the first half with the two clubs combining for eight ties and five lead changes.  With the Jags holding a 15-14 lead, UALR pushed across five straight points to take the lead for good at 19-15.  During the run, Dilyana Deyanova recorded three of the Trojans five points with three of her nine kills in the match.  UALR went on to take the game and the match with the 30-22 win.