Box Score - South Alabama 3, Northwestern State 1 (.pdf)STARKVILLE, Miss. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team picked up its fourth-straight win Friday afternoon as the Jaguars captured a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15) victory over Northwestern State at the Maroon Classic hosted by Mississippi State at the Newell-Grissom Building.
"We played much cleaner in the third and fourth set of our match today," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We definitely controlled our side of the net better than we did in the first and second set."
The Jags (4-4) will close out with a pair of matches on Saturday as they take on Nicholls State (11 a.m.) and Memphis (5 p.m.). Live stats for both matches will be available at www.USAJaguars.com on the Jaguar volleyball schedule page.
South Alabama used a balanced offensive attack in the four-set victory as five Jaguars recorded seven kills or better. Leading the way for USA was sophomore outside hitter Mechell Daniel finished with 14 kills and 14 digs for the second-straight match for her fourth double-double of the season. Mallory Moore and Nikki Gittens also finished in double figures offensively, carding 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Symone Stephenson added eight kills and hit a match-high .438, while Jessica Lewis chipped in with eight kills and eight digs. Junior setter Emily Hundt distributed the ball well, registering 45 assists and eight digs of her own in the win.
"We knew coming into this season that we didn't want to be a team that relied on one or two players," Hendrichovsky said. "To have five or six balanced attackers that are reliable for out setter is pretty important for us and it makes us harder to defend. It's very important for us to have four or five players who are able to get some offensive production for our team."
USA was also solid in the serving department as the Jags had 10 aces to the Lady Demons' three. Leading the way from beyond the service line was Jenna Hassell, who tied a season-high with three aces. Hundt, Gittens and Abby Baker also finished the match with two aces each.
Baker was outstanding at the libero position for South Alabama in the win as the sophomore posted a career-best 34 digs. The 34 digs bested her previous high of26 and were the most by a Jag in a four-set match and the most by a Jag during the Rally Era, eclipsing Hassell's mark of 33 against Georgia State during the 2012 season.
"Abby (Baker) had a solid day defensively for us and at times kept the rally going for us," Hendrichovky said. "She was really steady defensively for us today."
Savannah Stewart had 13 digs as well for USA in the win.
Northwestern State fell to 3-4 on the season with the loss. Stacey DiFrancesco led the Lady Demons with seven kills and also posted 20 digs in the loss. Ashley Elrod, Mackenzie Neely and Lauren Agan also added six kills apiece. Bailey Martin led the club with 25 digs.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, NORTHWESTERN STATE 22Northwestern State got off to a quick start in the match, beginning the opening set with a 5-1 run. DiFrancesco and Glynna Johnson – who had five block assists – teamed up to turn back a Jaguar attack and give NSU the early four-point advantage.
The Jaguars battled back and tied the contest back up on three occasions over the next several points and took a three-point advantage (18-15), following a kill from Lewis and a NSU miscue.
Northwestern State responded with four of the next five points and tied the set up at 19-19 on an Elrod put away, but Lewis quickly put the Jags back out in front for good with another kill.
The South Alabama frontline defense sealed the first-set win as Daniel and Stephenson combined to block a Demon attack and give USA the 25-22 victory.
SET TWO: NORTHWESTERN STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23In the second set, attack errors would prove costly for the Jaguars as they would commit 11 in the frame.
USA led by as much as three during the first half of the second set, but the Lady Demons came right back and tied the contest up at 10-10 on an ace from Natalie Jaegar.
Still tied at 14-14, Northwestern State took advantage of some Jaguar attack errors. Elrod broke the tie and NSU then took a 17-14 lead after back-to-back Jag miscues.
South Alabama continued to battle and later knotted the set back up at 20-20, but six points later, Northwestern State was able to grab the final two points and even the match at one set apiece. Vanessa Coleman's kill put the Lady Demons at set point and USA then committed its 11th attack error of the frame to give NSU the 25-23 win.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, NORTHWESTERN STATE 15After hitting .082 in the previous set and registering 11 attack errors, South Alabama came out of the break much more focused and only committed four attack errors in each of the final two sets.
Led by Daniel – who had five kills and hit .400 in the frame, USA jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, two points coming on kills from the Chelmsford, England, native. From that point, South Alabama never relinquished the lead.
The Lady Demons managed to trim the deficit to 5-4, but that was as close as they would get in the set as USA rattled off five unanswered points and nine of the next 11 to extend its advantage out to 14-6 after another Daniel kill.
South Alabama went on to take the third set, 25-15 after back-to-back aces from Gittens.
SET FOUR: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, NORTHWESTERN STATE 15USA maintained the momentum and led wire-to-wire in the final set, beginning the fourth set on an 8-1 run. Baker gave South Alabama the seven-point lead with an ace of her own.
From there, NSU was only able to get as close as two on two occasions, the last coming at 15-13 on a Agan kill, but Moore and Gittens quickly pushed the South Alabama advantage back out to four over the next two points as they each slammed home a kill.
The Jaguars closed strong, picking up the final five points of the match to take the 25-15 victory.
NOTES: With the win, South Alabama improved to 5-3 in the all-time series versus Northwestern State. The meeting was the first between the two clubs since the 1995 season where they met at the Southeastern Louisiana Invitational. USA will take on its second-straight Southland Conference member when it faces Nicholls State on Saturday morning. Abby Baker's 34 digs were a career-best for the Jag sophomore. The 34 digs bested her previous high of26 and were the most by a Jag in a four-set match and the most by a Jag during the Rally Era, eclipsing Hassell's mark of 33 against Georgia State during the 2012 season.
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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