MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama volleyball team could not bounce back after a slow start Friday evening as Western Kentucky captured a 3-0 (14-25, 15-25, 21-25) Sun Belt Conference sweep at Jag Gym.

USA (10-11, 4-9 SBC) will now host Middle Tennessee Saturday night in its final home match of the season.  Prior to the match, South Alabama will honor its two seniors, Brittany Blackwelder and Colleen Downey.

With the win, Western Kentucky improves its record to 18-9 on the year and 7-5 in Sun Belt action.

The Hilltoppers had three players combine to record 33 of their 49 kills in the match, led by all-conference performer Megan Argabright’s 12 put aways.  Brittany Bowen (11) and Aquila Orr (10) also finished in double-digits on the night.  The Hilltoppers entered the match as one of the top offensive teams in the conference and lived up to their billing, finishing the match with a .488 hitting percentage.

USA was paced by Blackwelder, Hristina Markova and Lindsay Schwartz, who each recorded by kills of their own. 

SET ONE: Western Kentucky 25, South Alabama 14

The Jags kept it close in the opening points of the first set, until with WKU leading by one (4-3), the Hilltoppers took control of the set with a 10-3 run that was led by Bowen and Argarbright.  The duo combined to record five of Western’s points during the spurt.  South Alabama couldn’t draw any closer the rest of the way, as WKU went on to lead by as many as 12 (22-10) after another Bowen kill.  Led by a .536 attack percentage in the opening frame, the Hilltoppers went on to take the set 25-14.

SET TWO: Western Kentucky 25, South Alabama 15

In the second set of the match, Western Kentucky’s offense kept rolling, leading from the outset.  With USA trailing by just one again at 5-4, the Hilltoppers blew things open over the next several points with a 16-5 run that was capped off by a kill from Orr.  Orr’s kill put Western out in front 21-9 and WKU never looked back.  Western Kentucky setter Julia Noe gave WKU the 25-15 set win when she dropped in a kill of her own to send the Hilltoppers into the locker room with a 2-0 match lead.  For the second straight set, WKU’s offense was on fire, recording a .577 hitting percentage.

SET THREE: Western Kentucky 25, South Alabama 21

Western Kentucky kept the momentum for most of the third set, jumping out to as much as a 16-10 lead.  With the Hilltoppers leading by that margin, USA began to claw its way back and pulled to within one at 16-15 after a WKU attack error and two kills each from Schwartz and Tereza Bendlova.  South Alabama kept it close for the rest of the set until with WKU holding a 22-20 lead, the Hilltoppers were able to take three of the final four points to hold on for the four-point victory.  Orr gave Western Kentucky the 3-0 match victory when the junior outside hitter ended the match with back-to-back kills.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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