Box Score - South Alabama 3, Ball State 0 (.pdf)LARAMIE, Wyo. – The Jaguar trio of Mechell Daniel, Jessica Lewis and Mallory Moore helped lead the University of South Alabama volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20) win over Ball State Saturday morning at the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic held at the UniWyo Sports Complex.
"That was a very good win for our program," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "Ball State is traditionally a very strong program and last year they were one of the top 70 teams in the country. From start to finish, I really thought our girls controlled the match. Coming into today's match, I felt that it would come down to the team that wanted it more and had the mindset to take it."
Lewis and Daniel led South Alabama with 10 kills apiece, while Moore finished just outside double figures with nine kills and a .519 hitting percentage. After recording a career-high 65 assists the previous night, Emily Hundt posted 32 assists versus the Cardinals.
"Emily Hundt really stepped up for us this weekend," Hendrichovsky added. "She really controlled our side of the net and allowed our hitter to be good."
For their play this weekend, both Lewis and Daniel were selected to the all-tournament team. Lewis led the Jaguars with 46 kills (4.18 kps), while Daniel had 41 (3.73 kps) in their three matches.
The Jaguars (2-4) will now head to Starkville, Miss., to compete in the Maroon Classic hosted by Mississippi State, Sept. 11-13. USA will open up play versus the host Bulldogs on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Hayley Benson – who was also selected to the all-tournament squad – led Ball State (3-3) with 17 kills in the match and posted a .519 hitting percentage.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, BALL STATE 15In the opening set, South Alabama came out and grabbed the lead from the start, rattling off the first four points of the match. BSU began the match with an attack error and after an ace from Hundt, Daniel and Moore followed with a kill each.
Holding a three-point lead (15-12) later in the set, the Jaguars put the set away as they reeled off a 7-1 run to extend their lead out to 22-13. Savannah Stewart began the scoring with one of her three kills in the set and Daniel capped off the run with one of her four kills in the frame to give USA the nine-point advantage.
From there, South Alabama went onto to take the 25-15 first-set victory. The Jags were extremely efficient in the first set posting 14 kills on 28 attacks and committing just two attack errors for a .429 hitting percentage.
The USA defense also caused the Cardinals to struggle as BSU hit -.038 (8-9-26) in the opening frame.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, BALL STATE 19Tied 3-3 early in the second set, South Alabama pushed across eight of the next 10 points to take the lead for good in the set. Lewis began the scoring for USA with back-to-back kills. Nikki Gittens also had a pair of kills during the run and gave the Jags an 11-5 lead with an ace.
Ball State answered back with four unanswered points of its own to trim the deficit to 11-9 on a kill from Benson – one of her seven in the frame – but that was as close as the Jaguars would let the Cardinals get the rest of the way.
USA later extended its lead and took a 2-0 lead in the match after Moore's fifth kill of the set gave the Jags a 25-19 victory.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, BALL STATE 20The Jaguars looked as if they were going to put the match away early, jumping out to a quick 6-1 lead that was capped off by an ace from Baker.
Ball State continued to battle and with USA leading 14-11, the Cardinals ran off a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the match at 16-14. After a pair of Jag attack errors, Sabrina Mangapora tied the set up at 14-14 with her second kill of the frame. Nikki Box later gave BSU the two-point lead with an ace.
South Alabama rallied back and tied up the contest on a couple of occasions and with the set all square at 20-20, the Jags closed strong, capturing the final five points of the match. Hundt began the scoring when the Jag setter dumped in a kill. The Cardinals then committed three consecutive attack errors and Daniel clinched the 25-20 win with her fourth kill of the frame.
NOTES: The meeting between the Jags and Ball State on Saturday was the first-ever between the two programs and just the second versus a current Mid-American Conference member. USA is now 1-1 versus the MAC. For their play this weekend, both Jessica Lewis and Michelle Daniel were selected to the all-tournament team. Lewis led the Jaguars with 46 kills (4.18 kps), while Daniel had 41 (3.73 kps) in their three matches. Daniel also had 20 digs for South Alabama.
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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