Box Score (PDF)

ATLANTA – The seventh-seeded University of South Alabama volleyball team fell to No. 6 Arkansas State in five sets (25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 24-26, 10-15) Thursday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at GSU Sports Arena.

USA (13-17) was eliminated from the Sun Belt Championship with the loss, while Arkansas State (18-12) will advance to play No. 3 Coastal Carolina on Friday.

GAME FACTS
- USA faced a five-point deficit at 16-11 midway through the opening set before going on a 6-0 scoring run to take a 17-16 lead. A Jaguar attack error later in the set tied the score at 20-20, but South Alabama went on a 5-0 run to close the set, highlighted by a pair of kills from Hannah Harris. The Jaguars earned set point at 24-20, and clinched the set 25-20 on consecutive ASU attack errors to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- The Jags held a four-point lead at 9-5 early in set two, but the Red Wolves went on a 4-0 run to tie the score 9-9. ASU took a 19-18 lead on a Jaguar service error, but USA followed with a 3-0 run on kills by Meaghan Jones, Harris and Kelley Hartman for a 21-19 advantage. South Alabama earned set point at 24-21 on a kill by Jones, and clinched the set 25-22 on a kill by Lauren Hartman for a 2-0 lead in the match.
- USA took a 6-4 lead early in the third set after consecutive ASU errors, but the Red Wolves responded with a 5-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. A kill by Jones cut the USA deficit to one point at 9-7, but ASU then went on a 5-1 run to build a 14-8 lead. A kill by Hannah Johnson cut the Arkansas State lead to 14-9 before the Red Wolves scored five straight points for a 19-9 advantage. ASU later earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Macey Putt, and clinched the set 25-20 on a kill by Carlisa May to cut the Jaguar lead in the match to 2-1.
- The Jags opened set four with a 4-0 run on a pair of kills by Harris, and one kill each by Kelley Hartman and Rachael DeMarcus. ASU tied the score 10-10 midway through the set with a 3-0 run, but kills by Lauren Hartman and Harris gave the Jaguars a 12-10 lead. With the score knotted at 14, USA went on a 3-0 run that featured a service ace by Kelley Hartman to take a 17-14 lead. The Red Wolves answered with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 17 before a kill by Jones and ASU attack error gave the Jags a 19-17 advantage. USA pushed its lead to three points at 22-19 after a 3-0 run that was capped by a kill from Harris. A 3-0 ASU run, aided by a pair of Jaguar attack errors, tied the score 22-22. South Alabama earned match point at 24-23 on an ASU service error, but the Red Wolves went on a 3-0 run to close the set, earning set point at 25-24 on a Jaguar ball-handling error and clinching the set 26-24 on a kill by May to tie the match at two sets apiece.
- Consecutive kills by Kelley Hartman, and an Arkansas State ball-handling error doubled the Jaguar lead at 6-3 in the fifth set. But a 4-0 ASU run gave the Red Wolves a 7-6 lead. A kill by Kelley Hartman and ASU attack error gave the Jags an 8-7 lead, but Arkansas State went on a 3-0 run for a 10-8 advantage. An attack error by May later cut the Jaguar deficit to one point at 11-10, but Arkansas State went on a 4-0 run to close the match, earning match point at 14-10 on a block-assist by May and Isabel Theut, and clinching the match 15-10 on service ace by Kenzie Fields.

NOTES
- DeMarcus recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with a career-high 50 assists and tying her career high in digs with 13 while also adding two kills.
- Harris finished with a team-high 17 kills, along with one service ace, three digs and two total blocks.
- Kelley Hartman recorded 15 kills, a .462 hitting percentage, two service aces, two digs and two total blocks.
- Jones finished with 15 kills, three digs and three total blocks, while Johnson added seven kills with a .417 hitting percentage and two total blocks.
- Ashlyn Roberts led the Jaguars with a season-high 22 digs, in addition to four assists and two service aces. Arissa Chappell finished with 13 digs, three digs and one service ace, and Iva Durdanovic added 12 digs, one kill, one assist and one service ace. Lauren Hartman recorded 10 digs, six kills and two total blocks.
- May finished with a game-high 19 kills to lead the Red Wolves, along with one service ace, 16 digs and two total blocks. Putt added 18 kills, one assist, five digs and three total blocks.
- Ellie Watkins recorded a game-high 54 assists, while also adding 14 digs, two kills and five total blocks.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the match:
"This match was a very competitive match. I thought we came out and executed out game plan very well, but not well enough to get the win. We fought back to take the first two sets and played tough as a team. We made too many unforced errors in the third through fifth sets, and ultimately needed to play to win in those three sets to finish a set. I'm proud of this team for their fight the entire season and going into this match prepared and ready from the start."

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