MOBILE, Ala. - Lauren Stuckel recorded 30 assists and hit .857 to lead Western Kentucky to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-16) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over the University of South Alabama volleyball team Saturday at Jag Gym.

Brittany Bowen led the Lady Toppers (24-8, 13-4 Sun Belt) with nine kills, while Tiffany Elmore and Jordyn Skinner each chipped in with seven to go along with hitting percentages of .375 or better.  Sarah Rogers recorded a match-high 10 digs, and Lindsey Gould added seven.

Hristina Markova paced all players with 11 kills, hitting a team-leading .304, for the Jaguars (11-19, 2-5 SBC).  Tereza Bendlova supplied seven kills, and Jaclyn Nickels added five - her highest total in a three-set match - as well as a match-best three blocks.  Samia Salomao led USA with eight digs, with Kari Frazier and Jennica Hagberg collecting five each - Hagberg also was credited with 25 assists.

Western hit .342 as a team while limiting the Jags to a .132 attack percentage, and the Lady Toppers also posted an 11-2 advantage in service aces.

The Jaguars trailed by four points, 15-11, midway through the first set before Western closed with a 10-2 run.  Seven of the points came on Rogers' serve including two aces - the second extended the Lady Topper lead to 22-12.  Bendlova and Skinner recorded back-to-back kills, but after a Stuckel kill the set ended on a USA attack error.

While WKU recorded only two more kills than the Jags in the opening set, 11-9, it outhit USA .267-037.  Bendlova accounted for three of the Jaguars' kills, while Salomao recorded four digs in the set.

USA took an early 5-2 lead in set two, with two kills coming from Markova.  The Lady Toppers answered with four consecutive points, but a Markova kill and Western error put the Jaguars back in front.  WKU took control, however, by scoring 11 of the next 14 points.  USA closed the gap to 21-15 on a kill from Nickels, but the Lady Toppers were able to close out the set on a Jag service error.

Markova paced all players with six kills - she hit .500 on 10 swings - in the set, helping the Jaguars raise their attack percentage to .226.  Bendlova added three kills while posting a .500 hitting percentage as well, but Western hit .462 with 16 kills in the set.  All six Lady Topper starters had multiple kills led by Bowen's four.

WKU never trailed in the third set, one in which it hit .304, starting with the first of four Bowen kills.  After USA knotted the score 2-2, the Lady Toppers went on a 9-1 run keyed by three straight Gould aces.  The Jags cut the deficit to six with back-to-back points, but Skinner's kill pushed the advantage back to 10, 15-5.  Down 23-10, the Jaguars used a kill and a service ace from Markova, as well as four straight points on Salomao's serve, to draw within eight, but saw the match come to an end on a service error.

Markova recorded three kills in the set, while Nickels had two on two attempts.

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).

-USA-