Box Score - Western Kentucky 3, South Alabama 0 (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – Western Kentucky recorded 53 kills and hit .385 Saturday night as the University of South Alabama women's volleyball team fell 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 21-25) to the Lady Toppers at Jag Gym.
"Western Kentucky returns a veteran team and they stayed more composed than us in the match and executed at a higher level," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.
USA (5-7, 0-2 SBC) will now host in-state rival Troy on Wednesday with first serve set for 7 p.m.
Mechell Daniel led the way offensively for the Jaguars in the loss with 14 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. Amber Wyatt and Mallory Moore also added six kills apiece for USA, while Moore had a team-high five block assists.
Western Kentucky improved to 12-4 and 2-0 in the Sun Belt with the win. The Toppers were led by Noelle Langenkamp's 15 kills. Heather Boyan also chipped in with 11 kills of her own and four block assists.
As a team, WKU ended the night with a .385 hitting percentage compared to USA's .213. Topper setter Melanie Stutsman recorded 44 assists on 53 of Western Kentucky's kills.
FIRST SET: WESTERN KENTUCKY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
Led by the play of Daniel, South Alabama held the lead early on in the opening set versus the Lady Toppers. Daniel came out on fire and recorded USA's first four points of the match. The Jaguars later extended their lead out to 10-6 after a kill from Deanna Canfield.
Following the kill from Canfield, Western Kentucky began to rally back and pushed across eight of the next 10 points to grab its first lead of the match (14-13 on a block assists from Langenkamp and Haley Bodway. Langenkamp also added a pair of kills during the Topper run.
WKU held control over the next several points, but USA continued to battle and eventually tied the contest back up. Still tied at 22-22 after a kill from Wyatt, The Toppers picked up the next two points – a kill from Langenkamp and a Jaguar attack error – to take the lead for good. Langenkamp clinched the 25-23 first-set win with her seventh kill of the frame. The sophomore posted a .750 hitting percentage during the opening set.
As a team, Western Kentucky posted a .441 attack percentage with 19 kills on 34 attacks and just four errors.
SET TWO: WESTERN KENTUCKY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA193
South Alabama got off to a quick start and took a 5-1 lead after back-to-back aces from Emily Hundt in the second set. WKU once again battled back and tied the set back up at 8-8 on kill by Stutsman. USA came right back though and rattled off five-straight points and led 13-8 after an attack error by Western Kentucky. The Toppers answered the Jaguar run with six unanswered points of their own to reclaim the lead, 14-13 after a USA attack error.
South Alabama remained close over the next few points, until with WKU holding a 17-16 lead, the Lady Toppers broke the set open with a 5-0 spurt. Langenkamp – who had six more kills in the second stanza – ignited the run with a pair of put aways. Western Kentucky went on to take the set 25-19 after back-to-back kills from Boyan.
The Toppers continued their strong offensive showing posting 17 kills and a .382 hitting percentage compared to USA's eight kills and .031 hitting percentage.
SET THREE: WESTERN KENTUCKY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 21
In the third and final set, Western Kentucky led by as much as three early on, but USA fought back and trimmed the deficit to one (7-6) after two-straight block assists from Symone Stephenson.
Two points later, WKU gained some breathing room as it turned a one-point advantage into a 12-7 lead following a kill from Paige Wessel. Stutsman also dropped in a pair of aces during the scoring spurt.
The Toppers managed to keep their lead at around the five-point mark for much of the remainder of the set, but USA made one final push, closing the gap to 22-20 after a kill from Wyatt and a block assists from the junior middle blocker and Canfield.
WKU ended the Jaguar threat there though and captured three of the last four points to take the set and the match with the 25-21 win.
South Alabama did manage to post its best offensive performance in the final frame with a .343 hitting percentage (15-3-35).
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 to Western Kentucky, South Alabama drops to 9-39 in the all-time series versus the Toppers. Dating back to 1989, USA has dropped 36 of the previous 37 meetings, including the last 27 - all but one of those in straight sets. The last time the Jaguars took a set off WKU was a 3-2 loss in Mobile back during the 1999 season – a string of 60 straight sets taken by the Toppers in the series. South Alabama's last win versus the Lady Toppers came back during the 1995 season when USA captured a 3-1 victory in Mobile. USA is 4-16 all-time in the series in Mobile, having lost 14-straight home matches to the Toppers. The .385 hitting percentage by WKU was a season-best by an opponent versus the Jaguars. The 19 kills in the first set by WKU also tied for most in a single-set by an opponent this season.
—USA—
