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JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team fell to Troy in five sets (17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-21, 13-15) Thursday in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Convocation Center on the campus of Arkansas State University.
South Alabama fell to 17-10 on the season, while the Trojans improved to 11-21. Troy will face No. 4 Arkansas State at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the second round of the SBC Tournament.
GAME FACTS
- USA scored the first two points of the match, but Troy responded with a 7-1 scoring run that featured a pair of kills and a pair of solo blocks by Savannah Moore to take a 7-3 lead in the opening set.
- The Jags cut the Trojan lead to two at 10-8 following a 4-0 scoring run midway through the first set that was highlighted by kills from Iva Durdanovic and Kelley Hartman along with a solo block by Hartman.
- USA cut the Troy lead to one at 15-14 later in the set on a kill by Kristina Alabastro on an assist from Ashlyn Roberts, but the Trojans answered with a 5-1 scoring run to push their lead to 20-15.
- Troy closed the opening set with a 4-0 scoring run. The Trojans earned set point at 24-17 on a block assist by Bethany Cullity and Logan Page, and clinched the opening set at 25-17 on a block assist by Page and Jenni Young.
- A 4-0 Trojan run early in set two gave Troy a 6-2 advantage, but the Jags responded with their own 4-0 scoring run, highlighted by a kill and service ace from Alabastro, to tie the score at 6-6. Troy then answered with an 8-1 run to double its lead to 14-7 midway through set two.
- Troy earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Page, and clinched the set at 25-20 on a kill by Moore.
- The Trojans used a 3-0 scoring run early in the third set to turn a one-point deficit into an 11-10 lead. A Trojan ball-handling error tied the score at 11-11, but the Trojans responded with a 5-0 scoring run to take a 16-11 lead.
- South Alabama used a 5-1 scoring run late in the third set, highlighted by a pair of kills from Hannah Harris and kills by Lauren Hartman Alabastro, to cut the Troy lead to 19-17.
- The Jags cut the Troy lead to 21-20 late in the third set following a kill by Durdanovic and Trojan attack error.
- Troy earned match point in set three at 24-22 on a kill by Moore, but the Jags answered to tie the score at 24-24 on a kill by Lauren Hartman and block by Kelley Hartman. A solo block by Kelley Hartman gave USA a 25-24 lead in set three, and the Jags clinched the set at 26-24 on a block assist by Hannah Harris and Kelley Hartman. South Alabama closed the third set with a 4-0 scoring run.
- USA went on a 5-1 scoring run early in the fourth set, highlighted by kills from Kelley Hartman, Meaghan Jones, Durdanovic and Ashlyn Roberts, to take a 10-6 lead.
- South Alabama earned set point in the fourth set at 24-20 on a kill by Harris, and clinched the set at 25-21 on a solo block by Kelley Hartman.
- Troy jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set after a kill by Young, service ace from Cullity and block assist by Page and Young. USA cut the Troy lead in half at 4-2 on a kill by Kelley Hartman, but the Trojans responded with a 4-0 run to take an 8-2 lead.
- The Trojans earned match point in set five at 14-11 on a kill by Cheyenne Hayes, and clinched the match at 15-13 on a kill by Hayes.
NOTES
- Kelley and Lauren Hartman led South Alabama with 12 kills apiece. Kelley Hartman also recorded one dig, four solo blocks and three block assists, while Lauren Hartman added a .364 hitting percentage, three digs and one block assist.
- Hannah Harris finished with 10 kills, a .381 hitting percentage, one dig and five block assists.
- Ashlyn Roberts led the Jags with 23 assists, and also added one kill, one service ace and five digs. Parker Harrell recorded 21 assists, one kill and nine digs.
- Abby Baker led the Jags with 19 digs, and also added three assists.
QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the match:
"In the third set, we were down 18-12 and down at the end of the set, and our girls just never quit. We pulled out the third set, and even in the fifth set we were down 8-2 and were at 14-13 with a chance to tie it up. I'm just proud of our team's fight. We didn't really play our style of game in the first two sets, but I give credit to Troy; I thought they came out and executed really well. But I'm proud of our team's fight – we never quit. The effort was there, we just weren't executing; that's really what it came down to."
- On Troy
"They are a good passing team, and run a similar offense to us where they have three hitters up at all times. I thought they executed offensively. They were able to get their middles the ball, and we weren't able to get them out of system in the first couple of sets and they were able to run what they wanted to offensively. Once we started becoming more aggressive with our service game, it helped us put more pressure on them with our block and defense."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Rally Score Club, the volleyball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Rally Score Club go directly to support the South Alabama volleyball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/rallyscoreclub.
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