Box Score (PDF)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team fell to No. 15 Purdue in five sets (26-24, 13-25, 25-23, 14-25, 7-15) Saturday in the Crimson-White Tournament at Foster Auditorium.

USA (6-7) jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the match before Purdue (11-0) avoided its first loss of the season by winning the fourth and fifth sets. South Alabama will return to action Fri., Sept. 21, when it opens Sun Belt Conference play against Little Rock at 6 p.m. in Little Rock, Ark. 
 
GAME FACTS
- Purdue went on a 6-1 run early in the opening set to build a 10-6 advantage. But the Jags answered with a 7-0 scoring run, highlighted by a pair of kills from Kelley Hartman and a service ace by Parker Harrell, to take a 13-10 lead. A 3-0 Jaguar run later in the set on kills from Meaghan Jones and Morgan Stalcup and a service ace by Katelyn Lochner for a 20-16 USA advantage. The Boilermakers responded with a 5-0 run, aided by a Jaguar attack and service error, to take a 21-20 lead, but consecutive kills by Kelley Hartman gave the Jaguars a 22-21 advantage. Purdue earned set point at 24-23 on a kill by Sherridan Atkinson, but a kill by Stalcup tied the score at 24 apiece. USA earned set point at 25-24 on a kill by Hannah Harris, and clinched the opening set 26-24 on a service ace by Kelley Hartman. 
- A Purdue service error early in the second set cut the Jaguar deficit to one at 6-5. But the Boilermakers then went on an 11-0 scoring run, aided by three Jaguar attack errors and three blocks, to build a 17-5 advantage. Purdue earned set point at 24-13 on a kill by Grace Cleveland, and clinched the set 25-13 on a kill by Atkinson to even the match at one set apiece.
- South Alabama faced an 8-4 deficit early in the third set before going on a 5-0 run on kills by Jones, Stalcup, Hannah Johnson and Kelley Hartman, and block-assist by Johnson and Hartman, to take a 9-8 lead. A second 5-0 Jaguar run later in the set that featured kills from Kelley Hartman, Parker Harrell and Jones, a service ace by Harrell and block-assist by Alexis Silver and Kelley Hartman pushed the USA advantage to 14-10. Purdue went on a 4-0 run later in the set to cut the USA lead to 18-17, but consecutive kills from Jones and Johnson pushed the Jag advantage to 20-17. South Alabama earned set point at 24-21 on a service ace by Jones, but a pair of Jaguar attack errors cut the lead to 24-23. USA then clinched the set 25-23 on a Boilermaker service error to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
- Purdue went on a 10-0 run midway through set four, highlighted by three kills and a block from Atkinson, a pair of Jaguar attack errors and one ball-handling error, to take an 18-8 lead. The Boilermakers later earned set point at 24-13 on a block by Caitlin Newton, and clinched the set 25-14 on a Jaguar service error to even the match at two sets apiece.
- South Alabama took a 3-1 lead early in the fifth set after a kill by Harris and service ace from Kelley Hartman, but the Boilermakers went on to score six of the next seven points, aided by a pair of service aces and three blocks, to take a 7-4 lead. Purdue took a 10-6 lead after a block by Jael Johnson and a Jaguar attack error. The Boilermakers closed the set with a 5-0 scoring run, earning match point at 14-7 on a Jaguar attack error and clinched the set 15-7 and the match at 3-2 on a service ace by Marissa Hornung.

NOTES
- Harrell recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 24 assists and 13 digs in addition to one kill.
- Katelyn Lochner finished with a career-high 24 digs and also added one assist. 
- Kelley Hartman recorded a team-high 16 kills, two service aces, one dig and five total blocks.
- Hannah Harris finished with a career-high 15 kills, and also added nine digs, while Jones recorded 12 kills, one assist, one service ace and three digs.
- Atkinson finished with a game-high 17 kills for the Boilermakers, and posted a .410 hitting percentage, four digs and three total blocks.
- Purdue finished with 16 total team blocks, while South Alabama finished with five total blocks. 
- Harrell was named to the Crimson-White All-Tournament Team.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the match:
"I thought we came out and competed really well. I was very proud of the team coming out and trying to set the tone of the game and attacking them (Purdue) immediately, as opposed to what we did against Alabama yesterday. I thought the girls really bought in to what we discussed gameplan-wise, and were focused and did a good job of trying to make that happen.

- On where she feels the team stands entering Sun Belt Conference play next weekend:
"I feel our schedule has definitely prepared us for the conference season. We have grown in multiple positions and areas, and as a team from the first weekend through this fourth weekend. We are excited to start conference play."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Fri., Sept. 21, when it opens Sun Belt Conference play against Little Rock at 6 p.m. in Little Rock, Ark.

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.