Box Score - South Alabama 3, Little Rock 2 (.pdf)LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Mechell Daniel recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 21 kills and 21 digs to guide the University of South Alabama volleyball team to a 3-2 (17-25, 25-13, 13-25, 25-23, 15-13) victory over Little Rock Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
Daniel is first Jaguar to record 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match since the 2010 season when Juliana Almeida had 20 kills and 33 digs versus Arkansas State (10/3/10) in Mobile. The 21 digs also marked a new career high for the Chelmsford, England, native.
This is the third time this season that USA has rallied back to win a match after dropping two of the first three sets. The Jags also rallied back from 2-1 deficits to Sacred Heart and Georgia State.
"Our team is learning what it takes to take that next step," South Alabama Amy Hendrichovsky said. "They are tough and gritty. They love to play with each other and that's huge. We just have to keep reinforcing to them that when you do those things and play the way we like to play, we usually have a good outcome in a match."
The win was also the 27th Sun Belt Conference victory for Hendrichovsky, tying her for the most in program history at South Alabama.
USA (11-9, 5-4 SBC) will now return home to host Texas State on Saturday, Oct. 24 in its annual "Dig Pink" match at Jag Gym. First serve versus the Bobcats is set for 12 p.m. 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.
The win snapped a seven-match win streak by the Trojans and marked the first-ever win by South Alabama on Little Rock's home floor. USA had been 0-12 in its previous opportunities. The win was the first for the Jaguars in the series since picking up a 3-2 victory over Little Rock in Mobile, during the 2010 season.
Joining Daniel in double figures was redshirt junior middle blocker Nikki Gittens. Gittens had 12 kills and hit .333 in the match for the Jaguars, while also adding five block assists. Kolby Meeks chipped in with eight kills of her own. Sarah Richardson led all players with seven blocks to go along with her six kills.
As a team, South Alabama posted 24 block assists and held a 12.0-11.0 advantage in the blocks category. Little Rock entered play this weekend leading the Sun Belt and ranked 33rd in the NCAA in that category. Meeks and Daniel also had four block assists each.
"We were able to get some huge blocks in the fifth set and I thought that was huge for us," Hendrichovsky said. "I felt the match really came down to our defensive effort both at the net with the block and with the defense in the back court. We just made some great defensive plays. Emily Hundt played awesome defense for us tonight. She just sparked our team. We are able to make runs when we get those types of defensive plays."
Senior defensive specialist Emily Hundt led the club with 27 digs, while Savannah Stewart also ended the match in double figures with 16 digs of her own.
The 20-plus dig performance by Hundt and Daniel was also the second time this season that South Alabama has had two players do that in a match this season. Hundt had 21 digs and Daniel recorded 20 at Southern Mississippi (9/29/15).
Little Rock (8-11, 4-5 SBC) was led offensively by Edina Selimovic's 20 kills. Selimovic hit .372 in the match and also added 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.
The Trojans also placed three other players in double figures offensively. Carolee Dillard had 16 kills and five block assists, while Marina Avram recorded 15 kills of her own. Miona Milovanovic ended the night with 12 kills of her own.
Defensively, Veronica Marin led all players with six total blocks – one solo and five assists. Priscilla Almeida was solid in the back court with 23 digs and Sydnee Martin added 18 digs as well.
Little Rock held an 11-4 advantage behind the service line. Selimovic and Martin each had three aces apiece, and Almeida and Kelsey Leech also registered two of their own.
SET ONE: LITTLE ROCK 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17With the opening set tied 5-5 after block assists by Daniel and Richardson, the Trojans grabbed control as they reeled off six of the next eight points to take an 11-7 lead after a Jaguar attack error.
Later in the set, Little Rock stretched its lead out more, using a 7-2 run to build its advantage to nine (21-12). The Trojans opened the run with four-straight points and was spurred on by their serving. Martin had back-to-back aces during the run and Selimovic also registered one of Little Rock's six in the set.
USA tried to mount a late rally, posting back-to-back block assists from Gittens, who teamed up with both Stewart and Meeks, which pulled the Jags to within six (22-16).
Coming out of a time out though, the Trojans picked up three of the final four points to take the set 25-17.
Meeks came off the bench to record five kills and hit .714 (5-0-7) in the first set. Avram and Selimovic paced the Trojans offensively with five and four kills, respectively.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LITTLE ROCK 13After dropping the first set, South Alabama got off to a quick start in the second, capturing the first three points of the frame and jumping out to a 6-2 lead on a kill by Daniel.
Little Rock answered back with three-straight points to narrow the deficit to one, but that would be as close as the Trojans would get for the remainder of the set. USA pushed across the next four points and took a 10-5 lead on a kill by Sara Richardson.
True freshman Alex Davis entered the match for the first time later in the set and posted an ace to extend South Alabama's lead to eight (16-8).
From there, the Jags would expand on their advantage, stretching their lead out to double figures. Daniel, who was held to just two kills in the first set, bounced back in the second frame with six kills. Her eighth kill of the evening sealed the 25-13 South Alabama victory to even the match.
After hitting just .135 in the opening set, USA posted a .324 hitting percentage in the second frame, registering 14 kills on 34 attempts with just three attack errors. Little Rock was held to a .111 hitting percentage.
SET THREE: LITTLE ROCK 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 13The Trojans held a 10-5 advantage early on in the third set following Milovanovic's second kill of the frame, but USA trimmed the deficit to two three points later after kills by Emma Anderson and Savannah Stewart.
Coming out of the time out, Little Rock retook control as the Trojans pushed across nine of the next 10 points to extend their lead out to double digits at 19-9. Dillard gave Little Rock the 10-point advantage with her fourth kill of the set.
The Trojans posed 16 kills on 32 attacks with just three errors for a .406 hitting percentage, while holding USA to a .034 (6-5-29) percentage.
SET FOUR: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LITTLE ROCK 23Little Rock led by as much as four through the first half of the fourth set. Trailing 14-10 though, the Jaguars rallied back and ran off a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the set since the opening point. Parker Harrell and Gittens ignited the run with a block and Daniel then added three kills, the last capping off the scoring and putting USA up 16-14.
Tied 18-18, Daniel gave the Jags the lead for good when the junior outside hitter recorded another kill and dropped in an ace to give South Alabama a two-point advantage.
The Jaguars would eventually hold set-point after an attack error by Little Rock, but the Trojans would fight off a pair of points to pull within one at 24-23. Coming out of a time out though, Daniel again came up big for USA as she posted her seventh kill of the frame to seal the two-point victory.
SET FIVE: SOUTH ALABAMA 15, LITTLE ROCK 13The two clubs opened the fifth and final set with a 4-1 run each. With the set tied 5-5, USA was able to push across four-straight points and took a 10-6 lead following a kill by Daniel. Little Rock would battle back and pull within one on three different occasions over the remainder of the set.
Selimovic narrowed USA's lead to 14-13 after her 20th kill of the match, but Gittens had the answer for the Jaguars on the next rally, slamming home her 12th putaway off the evening to clinch the 15-13 win for the Jags.
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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