Box Score - South Alabama 3, Georgia State 2 (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – Mechell Daniel posted her sixth double-double of the season, recording a season-high 24 kills and 18 digs to help the University of South Alabama volleyball team rally back from a 2-0 deficit and win 3-2 (18-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23, 15-7) over Georgia State Saturday night in Sun Belt Conference action at Jag Gym.
"This win is a great momentum-builder for us," Daniel said speaking of what the comeback effort means for the club. "We started off pretty slow, but after we had the break in between sets two and three, we really stepped up. I think the freshman really stepped it up for us tonight as well, especially Parker (Harrell). She had phenomenal sets and I'm so proud of her. Gosia (Szustak) also made a difference for us out there. It was really good for us to get that energy and carry it over the final three sets."
The win marks the second time this season that USA has rallied from a 2-0 deficit in a match to win as Sacred Heart was the first this season during the opening weekend of the season.
USA (8-7, 2-2 SBC) will now travel to take on Troy on Tuesday evening at Trojan Arena. First server versus the Trojans is set for 6 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.
Along with the double-double performance, Daniel also recorded the 1,000th kill of her career in the win, doing so in the third set. Daniel becomes just the seventh South Alabama player to do so and now has 1,017 for her career. The double-double was also the 34th of her career.
"It's obviously a great achievement," Daniel said of the honor of joining the 1,000-kill club. "Our digs were really good though and I couldn't have done it without the play of my teammates. I'm really proud of our team effort and proud that we were able to get the win."
Redshirt freshman setter Parker Harrell came in relief in the second set and ended the match with 29 assists and seven digs in her first significant action in a Jag uniform. Prior to tonight's match, had played in just three sets in two matches.
"Our performance in the final three sets had a little bit to do with what we said at the intermission, but more so it had to do with the changes we made in our lineup," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We had some people come off the bench and really contribute, a couple that haven't really played this year. Parker Harrell came in and did a great job for us and I'm proud of her for that effort. We were able to get Gosia (Szustak) in and she was able to be a stabilizer out there for us. Our team played more together and the way we like to play in sets three, four and five. We've talked with Mechell about her being a leader that can put the team on her back and I thought tonight she did that for us in the final three sets. She really stepped up and helped lead us to a victory."
Nikki Gittens also added eight kills, while Sarah Richardson had seven. Gittens also posted six total blocks – one solo and five assists.
The Jaguar defense came up huge in the victory as four players finished the night in double figures with two registering 20 digs or more. Emily Hundt set a new career high with 24 digs, while Savannah Stewart also carded a career-best 20 digs. It was the second-straight match USA has had two players record 20 or more digs in the same match as Hundt and Daniel had 21 and 20, respectively, earlier this week against Southern Miss.
"Emily and Sav(annah) were relentless out there," Hendrichovsky noted. "I challenged them (at the intermission) because we had to be better defensively. In the first and second set, we were getting beat defensively and they are our two seniors back there and it's their job to control the backcourt. They were definitely leading by example and made some great plays for us."
Freshman defensive specialist Arissa Chappell added 18 to go along with Daniel's 13.
Georgia State dropped to 4-11 overall and 0-5 in the Sun Belt with the loss. Deidra Bohannon led the Panther attack with 16 kills followed by Kristina Stinson's 11.
Natalia Neito posted a double-double with 43 assists and 13 digs. GSU finished the match with 100 digs and also had a pair of players eclipse the 20-dig mark in the match. Gabby Serafin had a match-high 25, while Anna Rantala added 23. Bohannon and Stinson each contributed 16 digs of their own.
SET ONE: GEORGIA STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 18Georgia State was led during the offensively during the opening set by Stinson and Bohannon who combined for 10 of GSU's 16 kills in the frame.
The Panthers were the first team to take control in the first set as they broke a 4-4 tie with a run of five unanswered points. Stinson would drop in a pair of aces during the run and Bohannon gave GSU the 9-4 advantage with a kill.
Trailing 17-12 late in the set, the Jaguars would find some momentum as they rattled off five-straight points to tie the set back up at 17-all. Gittens tied the frame back up with her second kill of the match.
The Panthers would quickly regain the momentum, answering back with a 6-0 run to take control. Bohannon led the way during the pivotal scoring spurt, recording a solo block and then adding back-to-back kills. After the two clubs exchanged serving errors, Bohannon would seal the 25-18 first-set win with her second solo block.
Led by Bohannon and Stinson, GSU posted a .316 hitting percentage in the frame, while USA managed to hit .111. The Panthers also registered 24 digs in the set.
SET TWO: GEORGIA STATE 25, SOUTH ALABMA 19GSU led by three early on in the second set, but Daniel's third kill of the frame tied the contest back up at 13-13. However, the Panthers would push across the next three points and retake the lead for good. USA aided the three GSU points with a serving error and a pair of attack errors.
Rantala gave Georgia State a 21-17 lead with a kill of her own, but the Jaguars would attempt to rally back cutting the deficit in half after kills by Daniel and Richardson and forcing a Panther time out.
Coming out of the time out though, GSU would quickly regain control and end the threat, closing out the set with the final four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-19 second-set victory.
USA continued to struggle offensively in the second set, recording 11 kills on 39 attacks and eight errors for a .067 hitting percentage. Daniel led the club with four kills, while Richardson added three.
GSU was paced in the set by the trio of Stinson (4), Bohannon (3) and Kitan Ajanaku (3).
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 17Coming out of the intermission, Daniel who had had just six kills through the first two sets, came alive posting seven kills and hitting .412 in the third set.
The sophomore from Chelmsford, England, broke an early tie and made history as her first kill of the frame ignited a 7-1 Jaguar run. The kill was also the 1,000th of her career. Daniel added another putaway and Hundt recorded an ace during the run. Richardson and true freshman Gosia Suzstak, making her season-debut, capped off the run and extended USA's advantage out to 13-7 when the due teamed up to run back a Panther attack.
From there, South Alabama would maintain control, eventually taking the set, 25-17. Kristina Alabastro sealed the eight-point win with her third kill of the frame. After struggling offensively during the first two sets, USA bounced back to record a .257 hitting percentage in the third frame, while holding GSU to eight kills and a .029 percentage.
SET FOUR: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 23Riding the momentum of the previous set win, South Alabama pushed across seven of the first 10 points to take control early on. Daniel and Gittens combined on a block to give USA the 7-3 advantage.
As she did the earlier set, Daniel provided the offense for the Jaguars, posting nine kills in the fourth set. Daniel slammed home back-to-back kills later in the set and Szustak posted the first kill of her career to give USA a double-digit lead, 23-13.
The Panthers would mount a comeback though and reel off 10 of the next 11 points to trim the deficit to one, 24-23. During the run, Georgia State fought off seven consecutive set-point opportunities by the Jaguars. Bohannon had a kill and a block to start the run for GSU. Shae Chapman also had two kills of her own to go along with a solo block and a block assists.
Alabastro finally clinched the 25-23 fourth-set win for South Alabama when the freshman's attack found the court for a kill.
The Jaguar defense came up big in the set, registering 30 digs, 12 coming from Hundt.
SET FIVE: SOUTH ALABAMA 15, GEORGIA STATE 7In the final set of the match, South Alabama got off to another quick start, pushing across the first three points and raced out to a 10-2 advantage to never look back.
The difference in the set was in errors where South Alabama committed just one serving error and no attack errors, while GSU had six attack errors and a pair of serving miscues.
The Jags went on to take the set 15-7 to complete the comeback and take the match.
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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