Box Score - Arkansas State 3, South Alabama 0 (.pdf)

JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of South Alabama volleyball struggled to find its game on the offensive side of the net Sunday afternoon as the Jaguars fell 3-0 (25-27, 23-25, 15-25) to Arkansas State at the Convocation Center.  In the straight-set loss, USA registered a season-low .082 hitting percentage.

We had our opportunities to win in the first and second set,: South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  “It came down to making a play in each of those sets and we couldn’t make that play when we needed today. We became predictable (offensively) and when we become predictable, it helps the other team to defend us.”

Arkansas State aided the poor offensive performance for the Jags as the Red Wolves finished the match with four solo blocks and 16 block assists.

USA (10-10, 3-3 SBC) will now return home to take on Louisiana-Monroe on Friday at Jag Gym with first serve set for 7 p.m.  The Red Wolves improve to 14-8 overall and 4-2 in the conference with the win.

Senior middle blocker Olivia Mohler led the Jaguars with 10 kills, while Torlandria Jones added nine.  Junior libero Jenna Hassell had 10 digs in the loss.

Jasmine Terry paced Arkansas State with 14 kills, while also registering a .321 hitting percentage.  Marie Hadar and Kelsie Hodges each had seven kills apiece.  Hodges also posted seven total blocks – two solo and five assists – while Hadar led the club with a .556 hitting percentage.  As a team, the Red Wolves hit .228.

SET ONE: Arkansas State 27, South Alabama 25
South Alabama go off to a quick start in the opening set, pushing across four of the first five points.  Following a pair of Red Wolf attack errors, Katariina Kananen gave USA the early three-point advantage with a kill and an ace.

Later leading 7-4, the Jaguars extended their lead to eight at 12-4 with a run of five unanswered points.  Mohler posted a pair of kills during the scoring spurt.

With USA leading 15-10, Arkansas State battled its way back and trimmed the deficit to one (16-15) after a kill from Jasmine Terry.  ASU continued to chip away at the Jaguar lead and took its first lead of the match on an ace from Hodges, giving the Red Wolves a 20-19 lead.

From there, the two clubs would exchange points and the lead.  South Alabama later set one point away from taking the set when Mohler posted her sixth kill of the frame (25-24), but ASU took advantage of some Jaguar miscues and picked up the set, 27-25.  During the three-point run, USA committed a serving and an attack error.  The Red Wolves then picked up the two-point set victory when Hodges and Sadie Clark teamed up to turn back a Jaguar attack.

The frontline defense of the host Red Wolves helped South Alabama commit 10 attack errors.  The Red Wolves held a huge advantage in the blocking category, recording three solo blocks and eight block assists, while USA didn’t record any.

SET TWO: Arkansas State 25, South Alabama 23
USA led by one (4-3) early in the second set after a kill from Savannah Stewart, but ASU quickly retook control and reeled off five-straight points to take an 8-4 lead.  Four of Arkansas State’s points during the run came courtesy of Jaguar attack errors.

South Alabama kept battling and clawing its way back over the next several points and eventually tied the contest back up at 15-15 after an attack error from ASU.

With the set tied 21-21, the Red Wolves took the lead for good and closed strong, picking up four of the final six points.  Hodges put Arkansas State up two sets to none and sealed the 25-23 victory with her sixth kill of the match.

SET THREE: Arkansas State 25, South Alabama 15
In the third and final set, Arkansas State started quick, reeling off seven of the first 10 points of the frame.  Terry led the offensive attack during the scoring run, posting three kills.

USA trimmed the deficit to 8-7 after kills from Melissa Waelter and Jones, but ASU quickly retook control and put the set away with six more unanswered points.  Hodges dropped in her second ace of the afternoon to cap off the scoring and give the Red Wolves a 14-7 lead.  

ASU went on to close the match and complete the sweep with the 25-15 third-set victory.

South Alabama’s offensive woes continued in the final frame as the Jaguars posted nine kills and committed 10 attack errors on 38 attempts for a -.026 percentage.

 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: With the loss, South Alabama falls to 3-23 in the all-time series with the Red Wolves and 1-11 in matches played in Jonesboro.  The .082 hitting percentage was a season-low by the Jags.

-- USA --