Middle Tennessee 3, South Alabama 0 (.pdf)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team battled Friday evening, but dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-21) decision to Sun Belt Conference East Division leader Middle Tennessee at Alumni Memorial Gym.

“I think we did better in some areas of the game tonight that we have been focusing on over the past couple of weeks,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “Our blocking and block coverage was much better tonight.  We were really in the match for the most part.  There were just certain parts of each set where we needed a clutch play, but we just couldn’t.”

USA (7-10, 2-3 SBC) will now head to Bowling Green, Ky., to take on Western Kentucky on Saturday.  First serve is set for 5 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena.  With the win, Middle Tennessee maintains its lead in the division and improves to 7-9 overall and 5-1 in the conference.

“We will have to serve tough again tomorrow versus Western Kentucky,” Keshock said.  “Hopefully our block will continue to get better.  We also have to get a couple of positions ready to perform.”

Melissa Waelter led the Jags offensively in the loss with 11 kills, while fell freshman Maureen Ros added nine of her own.  Junior middle blocker Lea Thurm had six kills and hit a .429.  

The Blue Raiders’ Ashley Adams led all players with a match-high 12 kills and Maria Szivos added eight.

As a team, South Alabama hit a .140 (36-21-107), while MTSU finished the match with 42 kills and a .280 hitting percentage.

SET ONE: Middle Tennessee 25, South Alabama 20

In the opening set, South Alabama jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage, which was capped off by kills from Waelter and Ros.  Middle Tennessee answered with a 7-2 run of its own over the next nine points and tied the set back up at 9-9 after a Jaguar attack error.  

With the frame still tied at 14 after a kill from Thurm, the Blue Raiders took the lead for good as they pushed across eight of the next 11 points to take a 22-17 lead.  Adams led the way for MTSU during the run posting three of her 12 kills.  From there, Middle Tennessee went on to take a 1-0 lead in the match with the 25-20 first-set victory.

SET TWO: Middle Tennessee 25, South Alabama 19

Middle Tennessee jumped out to a quick lead in the second set and took a 6-4 lead on a kill from Morgan Peterson.  USA though answered right back with a 6-1 spurt over the next seven points and built a three-point advantage (10-7) of its own after a Blue Raider attack error.

The Jags would battle back and take a 14-13 lead on a Waelter’s kill, but that would be the final lead of the set for USA as Middle Tennessee began a 7-2 run of its own over the next nine points with a kill from Brandi Wailer.  Over the duration of the run, Wailer posted four kills.

South Alabama was able to get as close as 20-18, but MTSU closed strong, finishing the set by taking five of the final six points to pick up a 25-19 second-set win.  In the frame, the Blue Raiders posted their highest attack percentage of the match with a .312.

SET THREE: Middle Tennessee 25, South Alabama 21

In the third and final set, Middle Tennessee broke an 8-8 tie and took the lead for good 7-3 scoring spurt over the next 10 points.  Over the MTSU run, the Jags didn’t help themselves as they recorded four attack errors, the last coming on a solo block from Adams to cap things off and give the Blue Raiders a 15-11 lead.  

USA narrowed the deficit to 24-21 down the stretch after a kill from Olivia Mohler, but MTSU was able to pick up the next point and seal the win with a 25-21 victory.

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).

NOTES: Middle Tennessee now holds a 16-0 advantage in the all-time series.

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