Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated ULM in straight sets (25-19, 25-19, 25-21) in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday at Jag Gym.

South Alabama (14-6, 5-1 Sun Belt) remained unbeaten at home with the win, extending its win streak in Jag Gym to 11 matches. The victory tied the 1982 Jaguar team for the most home wins (11) in a season, and also marked the Jaguars' fourth straight win.

South Alabama will return to action Fri., Oct. 18, when it faces UT Arlington in a Sun Belt Conference match at 6:30 p.m. in Arlington, Texas.

 GAME FACTS
- ULM (9-12, 0-6 Sun Belt) cut the Jaguar lead to one point at 9-8 in the opening set on a kill by Kate Blasingame, but USA responded with a 7-1 scoring run, highlighted by three kills from Kelley Hartman and one kill by Hannah Harris, to take a 16-9 lead. A 4-0 Warhawk run late in set one cut the USA lead to 23-19, but the Jags earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Harris, and clinched the set 25-19 on a kill by Kelley Hartman for a 1-0 lead.
- The Warhawks held a 3-2 lead early in set two before USA went on a 5-0 run, which featured kills by Rachael DeMarcus, Kelley Hartman and Meaghan Jones, and a block-assist from DeMarcus and Hannah Johnson, to take a 7-3 lead. A kill by ULM's Mikaela Worley cut the Jaguar lead to one point at 15-14, but the Jags answered with a 7-1 scoring run, highlighted by a pair of kills each from Jones and Iva Durdanovic, for a 22-15 advantage. South Alabama later earned set point at 24-18 on a kill by Durdanovic, and clinched the set 25-19 on a kill by Harris for a 2-0 lead in the match.
- ULM jumped out to a 6-1 lead in set three, and later pushed its lead to 13-5 after a 5-0 scoring run. A kill by DeMarcus kicked off a 4-0 Jaguar run that was capped by consecutive kills by Kelley Hartman to cut the Warhawk lead to 14-11. A kill by ULM's Ina Gosen gave the Warhawks a 17-13 lead, but USA went on a 6-0 scoring run, highlighted by a pair of service aces from Kelley Hartman and kills from Johnson and Durdanvoic, for a 19-17 lead. A Jaguar service error cut the USA lead to 19-18, but three consecutive kills by Hannah Maddux extended the Jag lead to 22-18. South Alabama earned match point at 24-21 on a kill by Durdanovic, and clinched the match 25-21 on a Warhawk attack error. 

NOTES
- DeMarcus recorded her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 31 assists and 11 digs along with three kills, one service ace and two block-assists.
- Durdanovic finished with a game-high 11 kills, one assist, nine digs and three total blocks. It marked her fifth consecutive match with 10 or more kills. 
- Kelley Hartman recorded 10 kills, .353 hitting percentage, two service aces, two digs and one block.
- Ashlyn Roberts finished with a game-high 12 digs, and also added four assists.
- South Alabama posted a .324 team hitting percentage in the opening set of the match, and finished with a .250 hitting percentage in three sets.
- The win tied the 1982 Jaguar team for the most home wins (11) in a single season.

QUOTES
Head Coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell
- On the win:
"The third set is in the elephant in the room for us right now, and it started that way again going down 6-1. I'm not sure what it is, but we have to keep working on being consistent throughout an entire match. But I am super proud of them (team) for battling back. I couldn't be more proud of Hannah Maddux for stepping in, especially at the end (of the match); she was taking big rips out there, and that was a huge momentum shift for us. I thought we did a really good job serving tonight. I think our serve receive can still be a little bit better, but Kelley (Hartman) and Rachael (DeMarcus) went on that little serving run at the end of the third set and that is ultimately why we rallied back there."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Fri., Oct. 18, when it faces UT Arlington in a Sun Belt Conference match at 6:30 p.m. in Arlington, Texas.

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.