Box Score - Troy 3, South Alabama 1 (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball dropped its regular-season finale, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25) to Troy Saturday evening at Jag Gym.
Despite the loss to the Trojans, South Alabama earned a berth in the league tournament earlier in the day when Georgia Southern was defeated in straight sets by Texas State. The Jaguars (12-18, 7-13 SBC) will be the eighth seed and take on top-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round on Thursday.
Following the match, South Alabama honored its two seniors – Jenna Hassell and Amber Wyatt.
Jessica Lewis led the Jags offensively with 12 kills and also recorded 13 digs in the loss as she posted her fourth double-double of the season. Fellow sophomore Mechell Daniel ended the night with 10 kills and a team-high 16 digs for the Chelmsford, England's 14th double-double of the season.
Nikki Gittens also finished the match in double figures with 10 kills and hit .348 in the match, while also leading the club at the net with seven block assists.
Troy (10-22, 2-18 SBC) snapped an 18-match losing streak with the win. Symone Shaw led the Trojans with a match-best 20 kills and hit .346 in the match to go along with 12 digs. Blair Winston chipped in with 14 kills and 16 digs of her own, while junior libero Ali Dowdall had 22 digs.
SET ONE: TROY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19South Alabama led by three (7-4) early on in the opening set of the match after block assists from Jessica Lewis and Gittens and a solo block by Symone Stephenson.
Tied at 11-11, the Trojans took control of the set and rattled off a 7-2 run over the next nine points to take an 18-13 lead. Winston recorded two of her four kills in the set during Troy's run.
The Jaguars were able to fight off a pair of set points by the Trojans late in the set, but a ball-handling error by USA would seal the 25-19 win for Troy.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TROY 22Leading by two (8-6) early on in the second set, Lewis ignite a 5-1 run with a pair of kills and the sophomore later capped off the scoring and put the Jaguars out in front 13-7 with another put away.
Two points later, the Trojans pushed across four-straight points to trim the deficit to 14-12 on a kill by Shaw – one of her six in the set.
Later in the set, South Alabama stretched its lead back out to seven (21-14) following a kill by Lewis, but the Trojans would not go away as they answered back with four more points. Troy kept chipping away at the Jaguar advantage over the next several points and cut the deficit to 23-22 on a USA attack error.
Coming out of a time out though, Stephenson registered a kill of her own and on the next point, the sophomore middle blocker teamed up with Mallory Moore to block a Trojan attack and even the match for South Alabama with the 25-22 victory.
SET THREE: TROY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20Riding the momentum of the second-set win, South Alabama picked up the first three points of the third frame, but the Trojans would battle back.
Shaw tied the set back up at 7-7 and then three-points later, slammed home a pair of kills to give Troy its first lead.
Over the next several points, the Jaguars would fight back and tie the contest up on two occasions, the last coming at 15-15 on a kill by Lewis, but Troy quickly retook the lead with three-straight points.
USA kept battling and trimmed the deficit to 19-18 following a kill by Stephenson, but led by Shaw, the Trojans once again regained control and pushed across five unanswered points, three coming on kills by Shaw, to take a 24-18 lead.
South Alabama fought off two set points, but Troy eventually took the set, 25-20.
The Trojans posted a .375 hitting percentage in the frame, recording 19 kills on 40 attacks and committed just four errors.
SET FOUR: TROY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20South Alabama led by as much as three during the first half of the final set, but with the Jags holding an 11-8 advantage, the Trojans pushed across five of the next six points to take the lead.
Later in the set, Gittens attempted to lead the Jags back as she recorded three-straight points and cut the deficit to 18-17 with a kill, but USA couldn't tie the contest back up. Over the next four points, South Alabama would have two more opportunities to pull things all square, but with the set at 20-19, Troy reeled off four-straight points to sit at set point (24-19) after a kill by Katie Feemster.
Shaw clinched the four-set win two points later with her 20th kill of the night to give Troy the 25-20 win.
NOTES: The match between South Alabama and Troy on Saturday night was the 63rd versus in the all-time series. With the loss, the Jaguars still hold a 39-24 advantage in the all-time series. With her 10 kills and 16 digs versus the Trojans, sophomore outside hitter Mechell Daniel recorded her 14th double-double of the season. Jessica Lewis ended the night with her fourth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs versus Troy. With Georgia Southern losing in straight sets to Texas State earlier in the day, South Alabama earned a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championships. USA will be the eighth seed and take on top-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round.
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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