Box Score - Arkansas State 3, South Alabama 2 (.pdf)

JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball picked up the first two sets of Friday night's match, only to see Arkansas State rally back and take the final three to give the Red Wolves the 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 13-15) Sun Belt Conference victory at the Convocation Center.

"Each time we step onto the court, we're learning and growing," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  "Once this team figures out what it takes to win the close one at the end, we're going to be a very good team.  Tonight, we were able to figure that out for a couple of sets and take two quick ones.  That's something that we hadn't done to this point this season."

USA (5-9, 0-4 SBC) will take on Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.  Live stats will be available at www.USAJaguars.com.

Mechell Daniel led the way for the Jaguars as she recorded her second-career double-double with 19 kills and 15 digs.  She also had six total blocks – one solo and five assists.  Mallory Moore also ended the night in double digits with 14 kills of her own.  Deanna Canfield, along with Daniel, was one of four players to finish in double figures in digs as the sophomore had a team-best 17.

For the second straight match, the Jaguar block was strong.  Along with Daniel's six blocks, Amber Wyatt led USA with eight block assists, while Symone Stephenson had a solo block and six block assists.  Moore finished with one solo block and five block assists.  As a team, had three solo blocks and 28 block assists and held a 17.0 to 9.0 advantage in the category over the Red Wolves.

Arkansas State improved to 7-11 overall and 3-1 in the Sun Belt with the win.  Sadie Clark led all players with 20 kills, while Sarah Kemp chipped in with 16 and Kelsey Reis finished with 10.  ASU setter Jackie Gerig had a solid all-around match with five kills, 54 assists, 12 digs, one ace and two block assists.  Megan Baska posted a match-high 28 digs in the win.

SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, ARKANSAS STATE 21
South Alabama took advantage of some Arkansas State miscues early in the five set to break a 5-5 tie.  During its string of five unanswered points, four came as a result of the Red Wolves' mistakes – three attack errors and a ball-handling error.  Moore put the Jaguars up 10-5 with a kill.  

After ASU had trimmed the deficit to two (11-9), Daniel slammed home three-straight kills to push the Jaguar advantage back out to five.  Arkansas State twice pulled two within one, but USA didn't allow the Red Wolves to get any closer as they pushed across points to extend the lead back out.  

Daniel – who had seven kills on 12 attempts in the opening set for a .500 attack percentage – clinched the 25-21 first-set victory of South Alabama with another put away.  USA's Jessica Lewis, who hadn't played since the opening weekend, had a key service ace in the final points for the Jags.

Clark and Kemp had six and five kills, respectively for ASU in the first set.

SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, ARKANSAS STATE 23
In the second set, Arkansas State got off to a quick start, grabbing seven of the first nine points.  Clark added a pair of kills during the early Red Wolf run and Reis also had two kills of her own and a block assists during the scoring spurt.

Following a time out though, South Alabama began to battle back and chip away at the ASU advantage.  Moore began the rally with a put away and Daniel later tied the contest back up at 10-all with a kill of her own.

The Red Wolves eventually stretched their lead back out to three (18-15) after a Jag attack error, but once again, USA fought back.  Daniel tied the set back up and then gave South Alabama a 21-20 lead when the Chelmsford, England, posted back-to-back kills.  

ASU later knotted the frame back up at 23-23, but Moore registered her fifth kill of the frame and Stephenson and Canfield teamed up to turn back an attack by the Red Wolves, giving USA the 25-23 second-set win.

Clark added five more kills in the second set for Arkansas State.

SET THREE: ARKANAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19
Trailing 2-0 in the match, the Red Wolves got off to another quick start in the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead after a kill and a block assists from Kelsey Sullivan.  Sullivan later combined with Clark for two more block assists to increase ASU's lead to 11-3.  The Red Wolves went on to lead by as much as nine (14-5).

Trailing by eight though, South Alabama quickly got back into the set as it rattled off a 9-2 run over the next 11 points.  Daniel ignited the run with three-straight kills.  Wyatt and Moore also added two kills apiece during the scoring spurt and USA cut the deficit to 17-16 following an Arkansas State attack error.

Two points later, ASU put the set away and closed strong as it ended the third set on a 7-2 run to pick up the 25-19 win.  

SET FOUR: ARKANSAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
ASU led by three early in the fourth set, but USA responded with five unanswered points, three coming on block assists from Wyatt, to take a 6-4 advantage.

With the Jags still holding a two-point lead (16-14), the Red Wolves rattled off five of the next six points to retake the lead, 19-17 on a South Alabama attack error.  

USA kept fighting back and twice tied the set back up, the last coming at 23-23, but Arkansas State captured the final two points of the frame on kills from Reis and Kemp to pick up the 25-23 victory and send the match to a fifth set.

SET FIVE: ARKANSAS STATE 15, SOUTH ALABAMA 13
In the final set, Arkansas State pushed across four-consecutive points to break a 4-4 tie.  Gerig had a pair of kills during the mini run and Sullivan and Clark gave ASU an 8-4 lead with a block assist.

USA was able to pull within one six times over the remainder of the set, the last coming on block assists from Wyatt and Daniel, but Kemp picked up the final point of the match to give the Red Wolves the match with the 15-13 fifth-set win.

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:  With the loss, USA falls to 3-24 all-time in the series to the Red Wolves.  ASU has won seven of the last eight meetings.  South Alabama is 1-12 in the series in matches played in Jonesboro.  With her 19 kills versus Arkansas State, Mechell Daniel has recorded 17 or more kills in six of her last eight matches.  The 19 kills, 15 dig performance was the second career double-double for Daniel.  Jessica Lewis – who has been out since the fourth match of the season – returned to limited play for the Jags on Friday.  She had two kills, an ace and five digs off the bench for USA.  Symone Stephenson tied a career-high with her seven total blocks versus ASU.  The eight block assists were a new career-best for Amber Wyatt, doubling her previous high.  Mallory Moore also posted a new career-high with six total blocks – one solo and five assists.  As a team, had three solo blocks and 28 block assists and held a 17.0 to 9.0 advantage in the category over the Red Wolves.

—USA—