Box Score - Louisiana-Monroe 3, South Alabama 2 (.pdf)
MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball team dropped its second-straight five-set decision Sunday afternoon, falling 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-17) to Louisiana-Monroe at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
USA (5-10, 0-5 SBC) will close out its three-match SBC road trip on Friday when the Jaguars travel to Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m.
Mechell Daniel tied a career-high with 20 kills to lead the way offensively for the Jags. Daniel also had 13 digs to give the freshman her third double-double of the season. Mallory Moore also finished in double figures and set a new career-best with 16 kills and finished with a .312 hitting percentage. Jessica Lewis had 11 kills off the bench and Amber Wyatt became the first Jag to record a double digit block tally as she ended the match with a career-high 10 total blocks – one solo and nine block assists.
Louisiana-Monroe improves to 5-16 overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt. The Warhawks placed a pair of player in double digits offensively. Hadley Swartz led the way with 15, while Hope Pawlik finished with 14. ULM libero Marcela Araya led all players with 19 digs.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LOUISIANA-MONROE 22
South Alabama held a three-point advantage twice early in the opening set, but ULM battled back and tied the contest up at 12-12 on a kill from Kaitlyn Shearer.
Later in the frame, USA again led by three following a pair of Warhawk attack errors, but once again ULM rallied back and knotted things up at 18-18 on a kill from Hadley Swartz.
Still tied at 20-20 four points later, the Jags pushed across four-straight points to take the lead for good. Jessica Lewis sealed the 25-22 win four USA with her second kill of the set.
The duo of Daniel and Moore paced the Jaguars offensively in the first set, recording five kills apiece. Bianca Ocana and Swartz had five and four kills, respectively for Louisiana-Monroe.
SET TWO: LOUISIANA-MONROE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
Riding the momentum of the win in the first set, South Alabama began the second set by taking five of the first six points. Moore gave USA the four-point lead with a kill.
ULM narrowed the deficit to one (8-7) after a kill from Pawlik, but the Jaguars responded with its second 5-1 spurt of the set to take a 14-9 advantage after another kill from Moore.
However, over the next nine points, Louisiana-Monroe reeled off a 7-2 run of its own to grab its first lead of the second set. Pawlik teamed up with Shearer for a block assists to ignite the scoring and she also added a kill and an ace during the run. Swartz posted a pair of kills of her own during the spurt and Kayla Kane dropped in an ace to cap of the run and give ULM a 17-16 lead.
With the set tied at 21-21 after Moore's fifth kill of the frame, the Warhawks took the lead for good as they pushed across the next two points on a serving error and an attack error by the Jags. Swartz later evened the match at one set apiece as her sixth kill of the set clinched the 25-23 victory for ULM.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LOUISIANA-MONROE 15
Like the previous set, South Alabama got off to another quick start, picking up the first four points of the frame.
Louisiana-Monroe didn't roll over though and fought back again, tying the set up at 11-11 on a kill from Iren Marinova.
Holding a one-point advantage (13-12) three points later after another kill from Marinova, USA erupted on a huge run to close out the set. A Warhawk attack error began a 12-3 run for the Jags over the remainder of the set. Lewis had a pair of kills in the run and Daniel also added three kills of her own during the spurt. Symone Stephenson also chipped in with two kills of her own and an ace during that same stretch as USA took the set 25-15.
SET FOUR: LOUISIANA-MONROE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 21
In the fourth set, South Alabama led by as much as three on two occasions, the last coming at 16-13 following a kill from Stephenson, but the Warhawks answered back with a 5-1 run over the next six points to take an 18-17 lead on block assists from Miranova and Maria Garcia.
With the set tied at 21-all, ULM closed strong, picking up the final four points of the set take the 25-21 win. Shearer gave Louisiana-Monroe the lead for good with a kill. Allanah Cullum then posted two straight block assists and clinched the set with a kill of her own.
SET FIVE: LOUISIANA-MONROE 17, SOUTH ALABAMA 15
In the fifth and final set, ULM picked up four of the first five points to grab an early three-point advantage. South Alabama managed to battle its way back and tied the set up at 6-6 on a kill from Stephenson.
With the set still tied at 9-9, USA pushed across three-straight points, two coming courtesy of kills by Daniel. The Jags later sat one point away from taking the set and the match (14-11) after a kill from Moore, but the Warhawks fought off three-straight match points, reeling off four unanswered points to tie the set back up and then retake the lead after back-to-back block assists from Pawlik and Cullum and Cullum and Marinova.
In extra points, Louisiana-Monroe completed the comeback and took the match with the 17-15 victory on a kill from Pawlik and a Jag attack error. Pawlik was instrumental in the fifth set for ULM as she had three kills and two block assists.
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 is now 7-6 in the all-time series versus Louisiana-Monroe. The loss is the first by the Jaguars to the Warhawks since the 2006 season when the Jags fell 3-0 in Monroe. USA is now 2-3 in the series in matches played in Monroe, La. The five-match losing streak is a season long for the Jags. The 0-5 start to conference play is the first since USA began the 2009 season with a 0-5 mark in the league. Mechell Daniel tied a career-high with 20 kills. Mallory Moore set a new career-best offensively with 17 kills.
—USA—
