Box Score - Appalachian State 3, South Alabama 1 (.pdf)

BOONE, N.C. – Nikki Gittens recorded a career-best 15 kills and hit .407 while also adding five total blocks (one solo and four assist) but the University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 14-25, 11-25) decision to Appalachian State on Sunday at the Holmes Center.

USA (13-11, 7-6 SBC) will now return to Mobile for its final home match of the season when it hosts Little Rock on Friday.  Prior to the match, the Jaguars will be honoring senior defensive specialist Emily Hundt and redshirt junior Savannah Stewart who will be playing their final home match of their career.  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.

Mechell Daniel also recorded her 11th double-double of the season in the loss, ending the match with 11 kills and a team-high 16 digs.  Sophomore setter Emma Anderson seventh double-double outing of the season with a 30 assists, 11 dig effort.  Stewart and Arissa Chappell each had 11 digs of their own, while Hundt had 10.

With her 11 kills, Daniel moved into fifth-place on the Jaguars' career kills list passing Juliana Almeida (2007-10).  She now has 1,152 for her career and is 68 away from tying Selena Chidester (1,220 – 1999-02) for fourth.  Hundt also made history against the Mountaineers as she became just the seventh South Alabama player to eclipse the 1,000 dig mark for her career.  She now has 1,005 in her four-year career.

Appalachian State remained perfect in league play and extended its current win streak to 15 with the four-set victory.  The Mountaineers are now 19-4 overall and 12-0 in Sun Belt action.   ASU also improved to 10-1 at the Holmes Center this season and has won 24 of its last 27 matches on its home floor.

Jess Keller led all players with 22 kills and a .340 hitting percentage for the Mountaineers.  Ashton Gregory added 15 kills of her own and a match-high eight total blocks (one solo and seven assists) at the net.  Emily Corrigan posted a double-double of her won with 14 kills and 11 digs.   

Senior setter Paige Brown guided the App State offense, posting 54 assists and 11 digs of her own.  

SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, APPALACHIAN STATE 22
South Alabama came out aggressive as it pushed across the first two points of the match on kills by Kristina Alabastro and Gittens.  Leading 9-8 later in the set, the Jaguars used a 6-2 run to extend their lead out to five (15-10).  Stewart had a pair of kills during the run, while Gittens also added a kill and a block assists.

Led by the play of Gregory, App State answered right back with four-straight points.  Gregory had two kills and a pair of blocks to help the Mountaineers trim the deficit to one. 

USA would push the lead back out to three, but once again ASU rallied back and tied the set back up at 17-17 on Gregory's fourth kill of the match.  

South Alabama looked as if it had regain control as it took a 22-19 lead following another kill from Gittens, but the Mountaineers responded with three unanswered points and tied the set back up at 22-22 on a Jaguar ball-handling error forcing a time out by USA.

Coming out of the time out, Gittens slammed home her fifth kill of the match to give USA the lead for good.  The Jaguars them picked up the final two points of the frame to take the set 25-22 after a pair of ASU attack errors.

Appalachian State entered the match as the top offensive club in the league, leading the conference in both kills and hitting percentage, but the Mountaineers struggled offensively in the opening set, registering a .000 hitting percentage (12-12-44).

SET TWO:  APPALACHIAN STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
Like the Jags had done to begin the match, App State picked up the first two points of the second set and held the early advantage.  Keller led the way for the Mountaineers offensively as she had five kills in ASU's first eight points of the frame.

South Alabama battled back and tied the set back up at 7-7 on a block by Daniel and Sarah Richardson.  Appalachian State pushed its lead back out to three (12-9) following a pair of kills by Corrigan, but USA pulled within one after a solo block by Gittens and a block assists by the redshirt junior middle blocker and Stewart.

That would be as close as the Jaguars would get though as the Mountaineers ran off six of the next seven points to extend their lead out to 18-12.  Keller, who had nine kills in the set for ASU, had a pair of putaways during the run.  The nine kills by SBC leader in kills were the most in a single set by an opposing player versus the Jaguars this season, eclipsing the previous mark of eight set by Corrigan her teammate in the first meeting this season between the two clubs.  

From there, App State continued to hold control of the set and eventually went on to take the second set and even the match with the 25-17 victory.

After struggling offensively in the first set, the Mountaineers bounced back to record 19 kills and hit .261 in the second set, while also holding South Alabama to a .091 hitting percentage in the frame.

SET THREE: APPALACHIAN STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 14
Coming out of the break, the Mountaineers continued to hold momentum as they pushed across the first three points of the set.

Leading by two (6-4), Appalachian State broke the set open as it pushed across seven of the next nine points to extend its lead out to 13-6.  Corrigan gave the Mountaineers the seven-point advantage with one of her five kills in the frame.  

App State would go on to lead by as much as 13 in the set before taking the 25-14 third-set victory.  The Mountaineers posted a .389 hitting percentage, recording 16 kills on 36 attacks with just two errors.  Gregory also had five kills in the set for ASU.

SET FOUR: APPALACHIAN STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 11
In the fourth and final set, South Alabama held an 8-7 advantage after an Alex Davis ace, but Appalachian State wouldn't let the Jaguars hold the lead long as the Mountaineers erupted for a 16-1 run over the next 17 points to take firm control.  Gregory, who had three kills and two block assists during the run, got things going as she slammed home a pair of kills.  Keller later capped off the scoring and put ASU out in front 23-9 after posting a kill of her own.  She had four of her eight kills in the frame during the scoring spurt.

Keller later clinched the 25-11 victory with her 22nd kill of the match.

App Sate posted its best hitting percentage of the match in the fourth set (.448) as it had 13 kills on 29 attacks and the Mountaineers didn't commit an attack error in the set.  USA had a -.062 (7-9-32) hitting percentage in the set.

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—