Box Score - Texas State 3, South Alabama 1 (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Nikki Gittens tied both a season- and a career-high with 13 kills and hit .455, but it wasn't enough as the University of South Alabama volleyball team fell 3-1 (22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 19-25) to Texas State Sunday afternoon at Jag Gym.
"Nikki has been a stabilizer for us this year and been a lead by example type of leader for us," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We need her to continue to do that and continue to put up the numbers that she giving us. For Nikki, it's business for her when she walks into the gym every day."
The Jags (10-14, 5-9 SBC) will host Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday, Nov. 7 with first serve versus the Ragin' Cajuns set for 6 p.m. at Jag Gym. USA will then head out on the road to take on Texas-Arlington on Sunday, Nov. 9. First serve versus the Mavericks is set for noon at the College Park Center.
The loss for South Alabama was the sixth in the last seven matches. The Jags are now 1-5 at home this season.
"We have to stay consistent in our matches and right now it's just a rollercoaster of play for us," Hendrichovsky said. "We do some really good things out on the court and make some great plays with a lot of effort, but then we have some negative things happen to us and lose our focus and lose a couple of plays, which become easy points for our opponents. Our team gave great effort today and fought out there, and I applaud them for that, but we just have to be more consistent out on the court."
Along with Gittens, sophomore outside hitter Jessica Lewis also had 13 kills, while fellow sophomore Mechell Daniel led South Alabama offensively with 14 kills. Middle blocker Symone Stephenson had five block assists for the Jags in the loss, while freshman setter Emma Anderson posted her first career double-double with 37 assists and 16 digs. Jenna Hassell also ended the match with 15 digs, while Abby Baker added 12 digs of her own.
Texas State improved to 17-10 overall and 12-3 in the Sun Belt with the win. The key stat of the match for the Bobcats was at the net where they posted 26 total blocks – two solo and 24 assists – compared to just 14 block assists for South Alabama. Lauren Kirch led TSU in that category with eight total blocks – one solo and seven assists. Caylin Mahoney was close behind her with seven blocks. Amanda Watkins had five block assist of her own.
Offensively, Jordan Kohl led all players with 16 kills. Alexandra Simms had 10 kills and Mahoney just missed a triple-double for Texas State with nine kills, 41 assists and 10 digs to go along with her strong performance at the net.
Shelby Vas Matt paced the club with 14 digs and Sierra Smith added 10 of her own.
SET ONE: TEXAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 22The first set was close throughout as neither team was able to gain more than a two-point advantage on the other until the final margin. There were also 17 ties in the frame.
South Alabama held a 22-20 lead after back-to-back attack errors from the Bobcats, but Keeley Davis recorded her fourth kill of the frame to ignite a 5-0 spurt for Texas State. USA followed the Davis kill with a pair of attack errors. Kohl then put TSU one point away from taking the early lead in the match with her sixth kill of the afternoon. The Jaguars then committed another attack error to give Texas State the 25-20 opening-set victory.
The Bobcats had 16 kills and hit .262 in the first set, while South Alabama had 12 kills and hit .132 in the frame.
Lewis and Daniel paced the Jags with four kills each.
SET TWO: TEXA STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 18The Bobcats got off to a quick start in the second set, beginning the frame on a 4-0 run. South Alabama battled back and trimmed the deficit to 9-7 following a kill by Lewis and a bad set by Texas State, but the Bobcats answered back quickly with a 10-2 over the next 12 points to take a 10-point advantage. Kohl capped off the scoring and put TSU up 19-9 with a kill of her own.
USA responded back with a run of six unanswered points and cut the deficit to 19-15. Gittens began the scoring for the Jags with a kill and Daniel then followed with a pair of kills. The Bobcats then committed three consecutive attack errors to bring USA within four.
That was as close as South Alabama would get though as the Bobcats regained control and went on to take a two sets to none lead in the match with the 25-18 second-set victory.
Once again, Texas State had a strong offensive showing, recording a .357 hitting percentage in the frame.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TEXAS STATE 22Leading 10-9 in the third set, South Alabama was able to push across three straight points and extend its lead out to 13-9, but the Bobcats kept battling and tied the frame back up at 17-17 on a kill by Watkins.
USA would again push its lead out to two (20-18) after a kill by Daniel.
Still trailing by two, two points later, Texas State came out of a time out and quickly tied the set back up at 21-21 after a kill and a block by Kirch.
This time tough, South Alabama had the answer and answered back with four of the next five points to take the set. Coming out of a time out of its own, Lewis slammed home two kills of her own for USA and Stephenson later clinched the set with a kill of her own to give the Jaguars the 25-22 victory.
Lewis and Gittens each had five kills apiece in the set for the Jags, while Daniel also added four of her own. As a team, USA posted a .303 hitting percentage in the set.
SET FOUR: TEXAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19Riding the momentum of the set victory, South Alabama recorded the first three points of the fourth set, but Texas State answered right back by picking up seven of the next nine points to take the lead. Simms and Kohl each had a kill during the run, while Mahoney had a kill and a solo block for the Bobcats.
USA tied the set backup at 8-8 on block assists by Lewis and Stephenson, but Texas State came back and pushed across three points to take the lead for good.
Later leading by two at 14-12, the Bobcats broke things open with a 6-1 run and took a 20-13 lead after a kill by Vas Matt.
Simms sealed the 25-19 fourth set win and the match with her 10th kill of the match.
NOTES: South Alabama drops to 1-3 in the all-time series versus Texas State, dropping both meetings this season to the Bobcats. The 13 kills for Nikki Gittens against Texas State tied both a season- and career-high for the Jag middle blocker. With her 15 digs versus the Bobcats, senior libero Jenna Hassell is now just 35 digs away from tying former Jag Keturah Carter for first place on USA's career list. The loss to Texas State marked the sixth in the last seven matches for South Alabama. After defeating Georgia State in its home opener, South Alabama has now dropped its last five matches at Jag Gym.
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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