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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated Appalachian State in four sets in a Sun Belt Conference East Division match Saturday at Jag Gym.

South Alabama (19-8, 10-3 Sun Belt) wrapped up its home schedule with the win, and finished with a program-record 15 wins in Jag Gym this season. USA will return to action Fri., Nov. 8, when it travels to Troy, Ala., for a Sun Belt Conference East Division match with Troy at 6:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena.

 GAME FACTS
- App State jumped out to a 6-1 lead, aided by a trio of Jaguar errors, in the opening set. A kill by Kelley Hartman and bad Mountaineer set cut the Jaguar deficit in half at 6-3. A 4-1 Mountaineer lead later doubled the App lead at 12-6. The Jags used a 6-1 run, highlighted by a pair of kills from Iva Durdanovic, block-assist from Meaghan Jones and Kelley Hartman, and solo block by Hartman to cut the App lead to 21-19. App State later earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Grace Morrison, and clinched the set 25-19 on a block-assist by Morrison and Kara Spicer to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- USA took a 5-1 lead in set two, highlighted by a pair of kills by Hannah Harris, and one kill each from Jones and Kelley Hartman. The Jags went on a 5-0 run later in the set that featured three kills by Durdanovic to take a 12-4 lead. USA doubled its lead to 16-8 after a kill by Kelley Hartman, which kicked off a 4-0 scoring run for a 19-8 Jaguar advantage. South Alabama later earned set point at 24-12 on a kill by Hannah Johnson, and clinched the set 25-12 on a Mountaineer net violation to tie the match at one set apiece.
- USA went on a 5-0 run to start set three that featured a pair of kills by Harris and three Mountaineer attack errors. The Jags took a 9-5 lead after an App service error, but the Mountaineers went on a 3-0 run to tie the score at 9-9. A kill by Amya Giger and Jaguar setting error gave App an 11-10 lead, but USA rallied for three of the next four points to take a 14-12 lead. USA later earned set point at 24-20 on a kill by Kelley Hartman, and clinched the set 25-20 on a service ace by Hannah Harris to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
- App State went on a 3-0 run early in set four to take an 8-7 lead. USA tied the score 14-14 later in the set after an App State service error and attack error. App State took an 18-17 lead following a service ace by Spicer, but a Mountaineer service error, kill by Jones and block-assist from Kelley Hartman and Jones gave the Jags a 20-18 advantage. South Alabama earned match point at 24-19 on a service ace by Kelley Hartman, and clinched the match 25-19 on an App State ball-handling error.

NOTES
- Jones recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 12 digs, along with a .348 hitting percentage and two blocks.
- Durdanovic finished with a team-high 13 kills, .304 hitting percentage, two assists, six digs and one block.
- Harris added 11 kills, .409 hitting percentage, one assist , one service ace and five digs, while Hartman finished with 10 kills, .273 hitting percentage, one assist, two service aces, two digs and four blocks.
- DeMarcus recorded a team-high 37 assists, along with two kills, one service ace, eight digs and one block.

QUOTES
Head Coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell
- On the win:
"I think we were still emotional from all the Senior Day stuff in the first set, but that was to be expected. These seniors have done a lot for this program, and our underclassmen are very attached to them. So I knew that it was going to be super emotional and that maybe we were going to come out a little flat, but we started to find our groove a little bit in the middle of the set. They (App State) made good adjustments watching film of us and attacking our weaknesses in set one, and we made good adjustments on the defensive end and carried that into set two. I thought we did much better in set two, especially from the service line. And I think that was the biggest difference, because when they (App State) are in system, they are a very good team. We saw that in the fourth set too, when they are able to set their outside hitters the way they want to. And their middles did really well, and that makes it tougher on our blockers. In sets two and three, I thought we got them out of system a lot. In set four, they got back into system a little bit and we weren't making the adjustments we needed to on defense, but sometimes that is going to happen and it is a grind to get to the finish. I'm super proud of them. I'm not going to complain about being 15-1 at home on the year. I know the seniors are emotional; I'm sad we won't be back in Jag Gym anymore this year, but we have to figure out on the road still."

- On the seniors:
"When I first got here, I relied on them heavily to kind of figure out what our strengths and weaknesses were to attack what they felt like we needed to work on. I trusted them very heavily when I got here, but they are not the same people as they were when I got here – in a good way. I have developed relationships with all four of them that have become something super special. The trust that they have with me and I have with them is something that I have been looking for a long time, and to have four seniors contribute like they do is almost uncommon – to have all of your senior class contribute that way. I think next year, yes we are going to miss them from a contribution standpoint, but I don't think you can replace them as people either. Kelley (Hartman) is the best leader in the world, and Ashlyn (Roberts) is the mom of the team. Iva (Durdanovic) was our spark plug tonight. She was struggling a little bit with that injury she had, and you wouldn't have known tonight. I couldn't be more proud of all four of them."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Fri., Nov. 8, when it travels to Troy, Ala., for a Sun Belt Conference East Division match with Troy at 6:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena.

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.