CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? The University of South Alabama volleyball team came up just short in its attempt to rally back from a 2-0 match deficit Saturday in its first match of the day as the Jags dropped a 3-2 (24-26, 17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-10) to UT-Chattanooga at the Country Inn & Suites Challenge held at Maclellan Gym.
The Jags (2-2) will close out action at the UTC tournament later this afternoon when they face Alabama A&M at 2 p.m. The Lady Mocs improve to 2-3 on the season with the win.
Lindsay Schwartz and Tereza Bendlova led USA offensively with 13 kills apiece, while Juliana Almeida and Brittany Blackwelder chipped in with 10 each. Freshman libero was spectacular in the backcourt, recording 31 digs, the second most ever by a Jag in a match, just four short of tying Keturah Carter’s mark of 35 set back on Oct. 14, 1989.
UTC was paced by Ashley Yeager and Jessica Scott’s 13 and 11 kills, respectively.
SET ONE: UT-CHATTANOOGA 26, SOUTH ALABAMA 24
The story of the opening set was one of scoring runs. Trailing by one at 4-3, South Alabama took a seven point lead at 12-5, courtesy of a 9-1 Jaguar outburst. The scoring spurt for the Jags was led by Bendlova who recorded two kills, an ace and a block assist during the stretch. The Lady Mocs answered right back though by scoring six of the next seven points to trim USA’s lead to two (13-11). UTC kept hanging around and eventually tied things back up at 17-17 after back-to-back block assists and a kill from Scott. Still tied at 20-20, South Alabama looked as if it had taken back control of the set with three-straight points, but Chattanooga closed the set by reeling off six of the final seven points to take the opener 26-24 and go up 1-0 in the match.
SET TWO: UT-CHATTANOOGA 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
Chattanooga came out and grabbed control of set two early on, opening the second set with a 12-4 run. As was the case with the rest of the set, USA didn’t help its cause during the Moc run, committing four attack errors. The Jags were able to pull within five on a couple of occasions, the last coming at 13-8, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way as UTC went on to take the set 25-17.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, UT-CHATTANOOGA 23
Set three was a tight affair with neither team able to gain more than a three point lead on the other the whole set. Schwartz broke the 13th tie of the set when she blasted a kill off that the UTC defense was unable to control. Holding set point, South Alabama was able to capture the 25-23 set victory when the Moc offense hit the ball into the net for their sixth attack error of the frame.
SET FOUR: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, UT-CHATTANOOGA 21
In the fourth set, USA broke an early 4-4 tie with a 9-2 scoring burst. During the Jaguar run, the frontline defense stepped up for South Alabama recording four total blocks, including three from Blackwelder. In the set, Blackwelder recorded five either solo blocks or block assists. From that point on, USA was able to keep the lead, allowing UTC to only get with in two on a few occasions. Bendlova and Schwartz finished things off with back-to-back kills to give South Alabama the 25-21 set four win.
SET FIVE: UT-CHATTANOOGA 15, SOUTH ALABAMA 10
Heading into the fifth and deciding set, South Alabama held an early two point advantage (6-4), but the Lady Mocs used an 8-1 run that proved to be the difference and gave UTC the 15-10 set victory and the 3-2 match win.
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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