Box Score - Louisiana-Lafayette 3, South Alabama 2 (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – Mechell Daniel (22 kills, 14 digs) and Jessica Lewis (20 kills, 16 digs) each recorded a double-double for just the second time this season, but the University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker Friday night as the Jags fell 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 12-15) to Louisiana-Lafayette at Jag Gym.

The Jags (10-15, 5-10 SBC) will now head to Arlington, Texas, to take on Texas-Arlington on Sunday at noon the University.  Live stats and web streaming for Sunday's match at UTA will be available at www.USAJaguars.com and can be accessed on the Jaguar volleyball schedule page.  

The double-double for Daniel was her team-best 11th of the season, while Lewis' 16 digs were a career-high for the Huntsville, Ala., native.  

Jenna Hassell led USA with 19 digs in the loss.  She is now just 12 digs shy of tying former Jag Keturah Carter's program mark of 1,509.  Hassell also had four of South Alabama's four aces – a new career high.

Mallory Moore led USA at the net with five total blocks – one solo and four assists – while Symone Stephenson added four block assists of her own.

Louisiana-Lafayette improved to 17-11 on the season and 6-10 in the conference with the win.  Kaylee Nemeth was one of four Ragin' Cajun players to end the match in double digits as she finished with 14 kills.  Sara Mossakowski and Chanelle Gardner each had 12 kills apiece and Stacey Reilly added 10.

ULL setter Andrea Hole posted a double-double with 47 assists and a match-high 24 digs.  

SET ONE: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
ULL picked up the first three points of the match but the Jags rallied back.  After cutting the deficit to one on multiple occasions, South Alabama tied the set back up at 12-12 on an ace by Hassell.  

Trailing 16-14, South Alabama again fought back and tied the set back up at 16-16 following kills by Lewis and Stephenson.  USA then took its first lead of the night on a Cajun attack error.

Louisiana-Lafayette answered back with four unanswered points to reclaim the lead (20-17) on a kill by Mossakowski.  Mossakowski had three of her four kills during the set during the 4-0 run.  

Led by Lewis, South Alabama again knotted the set back up at 20-20 after a put away by the sophomore outside hitter.  Lewis led all players with seven kills in the frame.

ULL later held set point at 24-21 after a kill by Reilly, but the Jaguars used their defense to fight off two-straight points.  Moore and Stephenson teamed up to turn back a ULL attack.  Daniel then had a solo block to pull USA within one (24-23) and force a Ragin' Cajun time out.

Coming out of the time out though, Reilly sealed the 25-23 opening set victory with her fifth kill of the match.

Louisiana-Lafayette posted a .385 hitting percentage in the first set with 19 kills on 39 attacks and just four attack errors.

SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 22
Like the first set, Louisiana-Lafayette again got off to a quick start, beginning the frame on a 4-0 run – three points coming on kills by Reilly.  

Daniel led the Jaguar right back as she slammed home back-to-back-back kills.  Hassell then tied the contest up with her second ace of the night.

ULL later pushed its lead back out to three, but South Alabama rallied back and took the lead (10-9) after a pair of kills from Lewis.  

The Ragin' Cajuns responded with four points and retook the lead at 13-10 on a kill by Nemeth, but two points later, USA answered right back with a 5-0 run to take the lead for good.  Stephenson capped off the run and gave the Jags a 16-14 advantage with a kill and a block assists.

South Alabama later took its biggest lead of the frame at 22-16 on another kill by Daniel.  ULL mounted a late rally attempt and got as close as two (24-22) on a Mossakowski ace, but Daniel evened the match at a set apiece with her eighth kill of the second set.   

The Jaguars were extremely efficient in the second set as they had 15 kills on 38 attacks and committed just two errors for a .342 hitting percentage.

SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 20
Trailing 13-12 in the third set, South Alabama pushed across four-straight points to take a 16-13 lead.  

ULL fought back and trimmed the Jaguar lead to one on five occasions with the last coming at 21-20 on a Kelly Weismann put away.  However, USA closed out the set strong, capturing the final four points of the set.  Moore began the final run with a kill.  Hassell then sandwiched a pair of aces around a Cajun attack error to cap off the scoring.  Hassell sealed the 25-20 and gave USA a 2-1 lead in the match when the Niceville, Fla., native dropped in her fourth ace of the night.

SET FOUR: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20
Down a set, the Ragin' Cajuns got off to a quick start in the fourth set, opening the frame up on a 4-0 run.  ULL later led 11-5 after a kill by Mossakowski, but South Alabama attempted to rally back, pushing across four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 12-9.

Louisiana-Lafayette though reeled off five unanswered points to break the set open.  Mossakowski began the scoring with a kill and then gave ULL an eight-point advantage (17-9) with back-to-back aces.

Trailing 22-14 later in the set, South Alabama made a late charge and narrowed the deficit to four with a run of four-straight points.  Stephenson had a pair of kills during the scoring run and capped off the run when the sophomore middle blocker teamed up with Moore for a block.

USA would get no closer though as ULL went on to take the set, 25-20.  

SET FIVE: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 15, SOUTH ALABAMA 12
In the fifth and final frame, USA held an early 5-4 advantage after three-straight kills by Lewis, but ULL responded with four unanswered points to take an 8-5 lead.  Weismann gave the Ragin' Cajuns the three-point lead with a kill.

South Alabama battled back and tied the set back up at 12-12 following a kill by Daniel, but Louisiana-Lafayette would get the final three points of the match to pick up the 15-12 victory and take the match 3-2.  Lockhart began the match-winning run with a kill and then teamed up with Nemeth on a block.  Nemeth then clinched the match with her 14th kill of the match.

NOTES:  South Alabama drops to 15-32 in the all-time series with Louisiana-Lafayette and 9-11 at home versus the Ragin' Cajuns.  The win by ULL also snapped a five-match win streak in the series for the Jaguars.  The loss was also the sixth-straight home loss for USA.  The loss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Friday night also marked the seventh in the last eight matches for USA.  The double-double for Mechell Daniel (22 kills, 13 digs) was the 11th of the season for the sophomore outside hitter.  Jessica Lewis also carded her third double-double of the year with 20 kills and a career-best 16 digs.  With her 19 digs, senior libero Jenna Hassell is just 12 digs shy of tying Keturah Carter for first place on USA's career digs list.  Hassell also had a career-high four aces versus ULL.  The loss to Louisiana-Lafayette also dropped USA to 1-6 at home this season.  South Alabama has now lost six-straight games 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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