Box Score - Arkansas State 3, South Alabama 0 (.pdf)

JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (14-25, 20-25, 19-25) decision to Sun Belt leader Arkansas State Friday night at the Convocation Center.  

USA (10-9, 4-4 SBC) will next head to Little Rock to face the Trojans on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.  Live stats and web streaming for the match can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.  Fans can also keep up with in-match updates by following action on the program's twitter account @USA_Jags_VB.

Junior outside hitter Mechell Daniel led all players with 16 kills and nearly recorded a double-double for the Jaguars, finishing the match with 16 kills.  Daniel also hit a season-best .433 in the match, committing just three attack errors on her 30 attacks.  Jaguar middle blocker Nikki Gittens also added eight kills of her own and had a .538 hitting percentage (8-1-13).  Emily Hundt led the club with 14 digs.

Arkansas State (18-1, 9-0 SBC) ranked 22nd in the latest PrepVolleyball.com poll increased its current win streak to 14 matches.  The 3-0 victory marked the 13th straight-set win for the club.  The 9-0 start in  Sun Belt play for the Red Wolves is the first since the 1996 season.

Carlisa May had 13 kills on 21 attempts with no errors for a .619 hitting percentage.  Drew Jones also ended the night in double figures offensively with 11 kills of her own.  Darby Graff also had eight kills for ASU.  

Kari Castanon-Hill added seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage, while Kelsey Reis chipped in with six kills and a .545 hitting percentage of her own to go along with her five blocks – one solo and four assists.

Junior setter Mallory Warrington led all players with 41 assists in the match and Markie Schaedig added a match-high 20 digs for Arkansas State.

ASU outhit the Jaguars in the match, holding a .367 (50-10-109) - .160 (35-19-100) advantage in the attack percentage column.  The Red Wolves also had 12 block assists compared to USA's four.  

SET ONE: ARKANSAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 14
After trading the first four points of the match, the Red Wolves were the first team to gain some breathing room as they pushed across four-straight points.  Graff led the charge during that brief stretch, recording two kills and a block assists.  

Holding a two-point advantage later in the set, ASU extended its lead out to five (11-6) following a kill by Kelsey Reis.

USA would continue to battle over the next several points, led by Daniel, who had six kills and hit .750 during the first set.

With Arkansas State leading 15-12, the Red Wolves reeled off an 8-0 run to break the set open.  Jones and Reis each had a kill and a pair of block assists during the run.  

ASU eventually took the early lead in the match with the 25-14 first-set victory.  The host Red Wolves posted 15 kills on 27 attacks with no errors for a .556 hitting percentage, while USA managed 12 kills on 34 attempts with nine errors for a .088 hitting percentage.

SET TWO: ARKANSAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20
In the second set, South Alabama took its first lead as the Jaguars pushed across four-straight points, but Arkansas State answered right back with six unanswered points of their own to retake the lead.  Castanon-Hill began the run with a putaway.  Graff and Jones then followed with a kill each and after a Jag attack error, Graff added another kill.  Reis then posted a solo block to cap off the scoring and give ASU a 12-10 advantage.  

After trailing by as much as four in the frame, South Alabama kept chipping away at the deficit and eventually trimmed ASU's lead to one (21-20) on Daniels fifth kill of the second set.  The Red Wolves would end the threat there and pick up the final four points of the set to pick up the 25-20 victory.  May had two of her six second-set kills during the key run to close out the set for Arkansas State.

Daniel continued her strong match, adding five more kills for the Jaguars.

SET THREE: ARKANSAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19
Leading 2-0 in the match, Arkansas State came out of the intermission and started the third set with four-straight points.  Reis had a kill and an ace, while May posted two more kills of her own.

USA picked up four of the next five points and cut the deficit to one after back-to-back kills by Daniel, but ASU would again respond back.  The Red Wolves quickly rattled off six of the next eight points to retake control and extend their lead out to 11-6.  

South Alabama was able to pull within two three points later as Kristina Alabastro recorded a pair of kills and the Red Wolves committed an attack error, but that was as close as USA would get for the remainder of the set.  

ASU quickly regained control with a 7-3 spurt over the next 10 points and took an 18-12 advantage following a Jaguar attack error.  

The Jags got as close as four on a couple of occasions over the remainder of the set, the last coming on a Savannah Stewart (23-19), but Warrington and Castonan-Hill clinched the match with a kill each over the next two points to complete the sweep for the Red Wolves.  

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).

—USA—