Box Score - South Alabama 3, Georgia State 1 (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – For the second night in a row, after dropping the opening set of the match, the University of South Alabama women's volleyball team rallied back to pick up the final three sets and earn a 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-19) Sun Belt Conference victory over Georgia State on Saturday night at Jag Gym.  

"I thought Georgia State played really well tonight," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  "They are very tenacious and their libero (Emily Averbeck) was just all over the place.  I've been talking to our team about the fact that they have to get used to being dug and used to getting pushed like we did tonight.  I thought we handled that pressure better, whereas before we were letting other teams' hustle deflate our intensity."

USA (7-10 SBC) will now head out on the road for a pair of road matches next weekend as the Jags are scheduled to face SBC newcomers Texas-Arlington on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and Texas State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Mechell Daniel recorded her fourth-straight and fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 16 kills and 17 digs.  Jessica Lewis also had a solid effort for the Jaguars ending the night with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.  Symone Stephenson just missed picking up her first double figure kill tally of her career as she had nine kills and three block assists.  Mallory Moore also added eight kills and a team-best seven block assists.  

Sophomore setter Emily Hundt had a spectacular all-around match, finishing with 41 assists, three kills, four aces and three block assists.  Freshman libero Abby Baker led USA with 16 digs.

Dede Bohannon was the lone player for Georgia State (5-16, 0-7 SBC) in double figures as she had 19 kills in the loss and hit a .308.  Kristina Stinson chipped in with eight kills of her own.  Panther libero Emily Averbeck led all players in the back court with 20 digs.    

SET ONE: GEORGIA STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 22
With the first set tied at 6-6, South Alabama pushed across seven of the next nine points to take a five-point lead.  Emily Hunt added a pair of aces during the Jaguar run and Stephenson put USA up 13-8 after slamming home back-to-back kills.

With USA leading 17-11, the Panthers began to mount a comeback as they rattled off four-straight points to trim the deficit to two on a block assists from Eliza Zachary and Stinson.  GSU continued to charge back and tied the set back up (20-20) on another block assists, this one coming from Andrea Ezell and Bohannon.  Georgia State took their first lead of the match on the next point following a kill from Bohannon.  Bohannon was solid in the opening set, recording nine kills, three block assists in the frame and hitting .636.

GSU later took the early lead in the match as the Panthers captured the set, 25-22 after a Jaguar serving error.  

As a team, Georgia State hit .393 (14-4-28) in the first set and posted 11 total blocks – one solo and 11 assists.

SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 14
Georgia State picked up three of the first four points in the second set, but South Alabama quickly regained the momentum and rattled off 12 of the next 14 points to take control of the set.  USA began the scoring with six unanswered points and after two GSU points, closed out the run with six more consecutive points to take a 13-5 lead.  Hundt sparked the Jag rally with two of her four aces and Lewis also added a pair of kills.  The Panthers didn't help their cause during the run as they committed seven attack errors, two coming as a result of Jaguar blocks.

After committing just three attack errors in the first set, Georgia State's offense struggle in the second set with the Panthers tallying 12 in the frame, leading to a -.114 hitting percentage.  

South Alabama held control the rest of the frame and evened the match at a set apiece with a 25-14 second-set win.

SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 22
USA trailed early in the third set, but once again strung together points to take the lead with a 7-1 spurt.  The Jaguars led by as much as six (14-8) following another kill from Lewis, but Georgia State began to rally back and picked up six of the next seven points to pull within one at 17-16 on an ace by Averbeck.  GSU later tied the set back up at 20-20 on a kill from Zachary.

Holding a slim one-point advantage (23-22), the Jags were able to pick up the final two points of the frame after kills from Daniel and Moore.

The Jaguar trio of Lewis, Daniel and Moore each had five kills in the third set and Hundt dished out 15 assists.

SET FOUR: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 19
In the fourth set, both teams held early leads and battled back-and-forth.  Trailing by two (17-15), South Alabama finally took the lead for good as it pushed across four-straight points.  Moore and the Jaguar defense began the decisive run when she teamed up with Stephenson and Amber Wyatt for back-to-back blocks.  GSU then added two more attack errors to give USA the two-point advantage.

With USA holding a 21-19 lead, Lewis sparked a 4-0 Jaguar run to end the match with another put away.  Stephenson followed with a kill of her own and after another GSU miscue, Daniel sealed the win as she slammed home her final kill of the night, giving South Alabama the set and the match with the 25-19 victory.

The frontline defense of the Jaguars came up big in the final set as USA had eight block assists compared to no blocks by the  Panthers.

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

NOTES:  South Alabama moves to 3-1 in the all-time series versus Georgia State with the four-set win.  The two clubs will have one other meeting this season in Atlanta on Nov. 17.  With her 16 kill-17 dig performance, USA's Mechell Daniel has now posted double-doubles in her last four matches and five times this season.  The seven block assists by Mallory Moore was a new career-best for the Jaguar freshman.  The four service aces by Emily Hundt were a season-high for the sophomore setter.  

—USA—