Box Score - South Alabama 3, Troy 0 (.pdf)TROY, Ala. – Sophomore libero Abby Baker carded 29 digs and helped lead the University of South Alabama volleyball team to a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-17) Sun Belt Conference victory over Troy Wednesday evening at Trojan Arena.
"Our block really helped me a lot tonight," Baker said when asked to what she attributed her strong performance. "The set up a good block and I was able to get around them and was able to read the hitters better. (As a libero) you're supposed to get as many balls as you can. I just try take whatever I can out there and leave the kills up to the rest of the team.
"Tonight's win and our win against Georgia State on Saturday were both real confidence boosters for our team. Troy is a really good team and to get a win like we did tonight was a good confidence booster for us and will help prepare us for our next match."
The 29 digs by Baker were the most ever by a Jag in a three-set match, eclipsing the previous mark of 25 by Jenna Hassell set versus Florida International on Oct. 29, 2010. That tally also tied with Hassell for fifth-most by a Jag in a match during the Rally Era (2001-Present). Hassell had her 29 digs at Tulane on Sept. 17. 2011 in a five-set match.
"I thought our block did a really good job tonight of getting their hands on the ball," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "It made it for our defense to play. I think I was most impressed with our team tonight by them keeping their composure when they were pressed. They stayed relaxed and stuck to our plan."
As a team, South Alabama (9-8, 4-3 SBC) held a 66-42 advantage in that category.
The Jaguars will return home to host Texas-Arlington on Friday night and Georgia Southern on Saturday night. First serve for both of those matches is set for 6 p.m. at Jag Gym. The match versus the Trojans began a stretch of three matches in four nights for the Jags.
Hendrichovsky believes the straight-set win will be valuable to the Jags not only in the win column, but also from a rest standpoint.
"Winning in three sets tonight was very important for us," Hendrichovsky said. "Taking care of our bodies is very important at this point of the season and for us to take care of this match in three sets gives us a little more rest for our next match on Friday night."
Mechell Daniel paced the South Alabama offensive attack as the sophomore outside hitter had 15 kills, while also adding three total blocks – one solo and two assists. Jessica Lewis also finished the night in double figures in kills with 10, while Symone Stephenson just missed double digits with nine kills and posted a .438 hitting percentage.
Junior setter Emily Hundt recorded her sixth double-double of the season with her 23 assists and 11 digs.
The loss for Troy (9-11, 1-7 SBC) was its seventh-straight. Darby Griff led the Trojans with nine kills. Symone Shaw added eight kills and Marija Zelenovic finished with seven. Ali Dowdall had 18 digs for Troy in the loss.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 27, TROY 25Behind the early play of Stephenson and Daniel, the Jags jumped out to a quick four-point advantage (6-2) in the first set. Stephenson had a pair of kills and a block assist, while Daniel also added two kills of her own.
Troy battled back and tied the frame back up later in the set and with the two clubs tied at 11-11, the Trojans pushed across four-straight points and took a 15-11 lead on Darby Griff's third kill of the set. Griff would end the set with six kills.
USA began to battle back and with Troy holding a 16-13 lead, the Jaguars reeled off five unanswered points to jump back out in front 18-16 following a kill by Daniel and a Trojan attack error.
Neither team was able to pull away from the other the rest of the way as the set went to extra points. The host Trojans sat one-point away from taking the set at 25-24 after another put away by Griff, but Troy committed an attack error on the ensuing point. Daniel then helped South Alabama capitalize on the error as she slammed home her seventh and eighth kills of the match to seal the 27-25 first-set victory.
Along with Daniel's eight kills, one other key stat was in the defensive back court as the Jaguars held a 21-12 dig advantage. Baker led USA in that category with nine digs in the frame.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TROY 19South Alabama once again got off to a quick start in the second set, picking up three of the first four points, but the Trojans charged right back, capturing eight of the next nine points to take a 9-4 lead after a kill by Symone Shaw. Shaw was the offensive spark during the 8-1 Trojan run as she had four kills during that stretch.
Trailing 10-5, the Jaguars rallied back and tied the contest back up at 13-13 on a kill by Daniel. Lewis and Stephenson also had a pair of kills during the 8-3 scoring spurt.
With Troy leading 15-14, Nikki Gittens helped put the Jags back out in front as the sophomore middle blocker recorded three-straight points for USA on a pair of kills and a solo block. Gittens' third kill of the frame gave South Alabama a 17-16 advantage.
Still leading by one at 19-18, South Alabama closed the set strong, ending the frame on a 6-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Daniel was instrumental down the stretch as she recorded three of USA's final four points and clinched the 25-19 win with her fourth kill of the second set.
Baker came up big again on the defensive side of the net for the Jags as she posted 12 more digs in the frame.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TROY 17Tied 7-7 in the third set, South Alabama took the lead for good as the Jags pushed across three-straight points. Lewis began the brief run with back-to-back kills and Mallory Moore extended USA's lead to 10-7 with one of her six kills on the night.
From there, the Jaguars held control, never allowing the Trojans to get any closer than two.
As they did in the first two sets, the Jags closed strong, ending the set and the match on a 6-0 run. Daniel began the game-ending run with a pair of kills and then clinched the match and the set with a solo block to give USA the 25-17 victory.
NOTES: South Alabama improved to 39-23 in the all-time series versus Troy with the win. The 29 digs by Abby Baker were the most ever by a Jag in a three-set match, eclipsing the previous mark of 25 by Jenna Hassell set versus Florida International on Oct. 29, 2010. That tally also tied with Hassell for fifth-most by a Jag in a match during the Rally Era (2001-Present). Hassell had her 29 digs at Tulane on Sept. 17. 2011 in a five-set match. Junior setter Emily Hundt recorded her sixth double-double of the season with her 23 assists and 11 digs.
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).
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