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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated Georgia Southern in four sets (25-9, 25-18, 24-26, 25-15) Friday at Jag Gym to secure a sweep of the three-match Sun Belt Conference series.

 USA (7-8, 7-4 SBC) extended its win streak to three matches with the win, which marked its sixth straight over Georgia Southern. South Alabama's Maddie Soboleski and Hannah Harris each recorded a double-double in the match, which was the final home contest of the regular season. 

GAME FACTS
- South Alabama opened set one with a 6-0 scoring run that was highlighted by kills from Hannah Maddux, Hannah Harris and Rebecca Walk. A kill by Walk and Eagle attack error pushed the Jag lead to 10-2. Georgia Southern cut its deficit in half at 10-5 on a block by Mya Wilson and Maddie Bryant, but USA answered with an 8-0 run that included three kills by Johnson and two kills from Maddie Soboleski for a 18-5 advantage. A 3-0 run that featured a pair of kills by Harris extended the USA lead to 22-8. South Alabama earned set point at 24-9 on an Eagle attack error, and clinched the set 25-9 on a block-assist by Morgan Stalcup and Harris for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- Georgia Southern took a 3-2 lead in set two after a Jaguar service error, but USA responded with a 5-0 run, highlighted by a block-assist by Johnson and Jones and service ace by Walk, to take a 7-3 lead. The Eagles answered with a 4-0 run to tie the score 7-7. GASO tied the score 14-14 before a 6-0 Jaguar run that included a service ace by Juanita Monteiro-Pai gave USA a 20-14 lead. South Alabama earned set point at 24-18 on a kill by Walk, and clinched the set 25-18 on an Eagle attack error for a 2-0 lead in the match.
- A kill by Harris opened set three before a 5-0 Georgia Southern run gave the Eagles a 5-1 advantage. USA used a 5-0 run that featured a kill by Walk and block-assist from Johnson and Maddux to take an 8-6 lead. GASO went on a 3-0 run to take a 12-10 lead, and pushed its lead to 15-11 with a second 3-0 run. The Jags answered with a 4-0 run that featured a pair of kills by Harris to tie the score 15-15, but Georgia Southern responded with a 3-0 run to take an 18-15 lead. South Alabama answered with a 4-0 run, highlighted by a service ace from Harris and block-assist by Walk and Carly Doros for a 19-18 advantage. Kills by Jones and Soboleski, and a Georgia Southern attack error increased the Jaguar lead to 22-19. USA earned match point at 24-22 on a kill by Jones, but the Eagles took a 25-24 lead with a 3-0 run.  The Eagles earned set point 25-24 on a block and clinched the set 26-24 on a kill by Haley Fuller to cut the Jaguar lead to 2-1 in the match.
- A pair of kills by Harris, a service ace from Soboleski and solo block by Maddux highlighted a 7-0 Jaguar run to open set four. Georgia Southern used a 3-0 run to cut its deficit to 9-4. South Alabama used a 5-0 run that featured a service ace by Monteiro-Pai and kills from Jones and Maddux extended the Jaguar lead to 16-5. USA pushed its lead to 19-7 with a 3-0 run that included a solo block by Soboleski and kill by Johnson. A 5-0 Eagle run cut the USA lead to 19-12. The Jags pushed their lead to 21-12 after a kill by Soboleski and block-assist from Soboleski and Walk. South Alabama earned match point at 24-14 on a kill by Stalcup, and clinched the set 25-14 on a kill by Jones for a 3-1 win in the match. 

NOTES
- Stalcup appeared in her first match since Oct. 12, 2018, at Georgia State after missing the 2019 season due to injury, and recorded one block and one kill.
- Soboleski recorded her third double-double in as many matches and fifth of the season, finishing with a game-high 36 assists and career-high 21 digs, along with six kills, two service aces, one solo block and two block-assists.
- Harris recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with season-highs in kills (16) and digs (11) while also adding one service ace and two block-assists.
- Rachel Hickey finished with a team-high 17 digs, and also added eight assists. 
- South Alabama and Georgia Southern finished with 11 total team blocks apiece. 
- The Jags recorded a .227 team hitting percentage, while the Eagles finished with a -.006 hitting percentage. 

QUOTES
Head Coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell
- On the win on Senior Day:
"All four of our seniors got to play today, and they all played so well. And not only did they play well, you could tell that our team played for them and that, to me, is what makes Senior Night most special. I have had years before where we have won on Senior Night, but the team hasn't necessarily been in the greatest place to play for each other, and they played for each other tonight. We played with even more energy, passion and fight than we did yesterday, and it had everything to do with it being Senior Night. And to win like that going into our two road weekends then the (Sun Belt) conference tournament, we needed that momentum and to step up and do a little bit better than we did yesterday. It was just an all-around great day."

- On the team at home this season:
"We struggled at the beginning of the year in our home gym, and we talked about last year a little bit going into our first home game against SFA. We have some returners from last year, but we have a lot of new people who are playing, so I think it's just getting them established in the area and environment of being in here. I think we took advantage of that more this weekend than we have in the past, and we also had more fans this weekend than we probably have had the last couple of times. And our fans were super into it today, and that always helps so shout out to JagNation for helping us out with that one. But I just think it takes time with a new team to re-establish what being at home really means. We have been playing well on the road this year too, and that's something we struggled with last year, so I'm hoping we can continue that because we're on the road for the rest of the season."

- On the return of Morgan Stalcup:
"I, one, have never coached a kid who has gone through as much as she has in general. But then, two, never coached a kid who has mentally and emotionally handled what she's gone through. Her mentality has always been the same, and it's always been team first. She didn't even know I was starting her today, and she was just extremely thankful. I think it says a lot about who she is as a person. And seeing how our team responded and got so excited for her when I put her in – she got one block and one kill. You could just see the pure joy on her face to be back out there, and I think that's why she's fought so hard – just for one moment like that. To see her take advantage of the opportunity, and just to have her back is icing on the cake for today. We all got super emotional. She got the block in the first set, and we had to kind of re-group ourselves and said, 'OK, we have to win two more sets.' Because it kind of just felt like everything was coming full circle, so we had to re-focus after that. It was a super special day."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Fri., Oct. 30, when it faces Troy in a Sun Belt Conference match at 6 p.m. at Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala. 

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.