Match 1 - Box Score
Match 2 - Box Score

BOONE, N.C. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team swept a Friday doubleheader against Appalachian State in Sun Belt Conference action at Holmes Convocation Center.

USA (3-5, 3-1 SBC) defeated App State (0-2, 0-2 SBC) in straight sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-13) in the opening match of the series, and clinched the series with a sweep (25-14, 25-19, 25-16) in match two of the doubleheader to extend its win streak to three matches. 

South Alabama will return to action Sat., Oct. 10, when it faces Appalachian State at noon (CT) in the series finale in Boone, North Carolina.

Match 1
South Alabama 3, App State 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-13)
GAME FACTS
- South Alabama tied the opening set 2-2 after consecutive kills by Hannah Harris and Rebecca Walk before App State went on a 3-0 scoring run for a 5-2 advantage. But the Jags answered with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a kill from Hannah Maddux, to tie the score at 5-5. The Mountaineers held an 11-9 lead before a 3-0 Jaguar run that featured a kill by Maddux gave South Alabama a 12-11 lead. App State took a 14-13 lead on a kill by Anna Kincaid, but consecutive Mountaineer attack errors gave the Jags a 15-14 advantage. App State tied the score at 15-15 on a kill by Grace Morrison, but USA responded with a 3-0 run that featured a kill by Hannah Johnson and service ace by Maddux for an 18-15 lead. The Mountaineers answered with a 3-0 run, aided by a Jaguar attack error and service error, to tie the score at 18-18, but a kill by Johnson and App State attack error pushed the USA advantage to 20-18. App State tied the score 21-21 following a Jag service error and ace by Sophie Cain. A kill by Harris gave the Jags a 22-21 lead, but a service error allowed the Mountaineers to tie the score 22-22. A kill by Maddux gave USA a 23-22 lead, and a solo block by Rebecca Walk gave the Jags set point at 24-22. South Alabama clinched the set 25-23 on a kill by Johnson for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- App State scored the first point of set two on a Jaguar attack error, but USA went on a 7-0 run that featured consecutive kills by Walk and Harris, and a pair of service aces by Maddie Soboleski for a 7-1 lead. South Alabama went on a 4-0 run later in the set after three straight Mountaineer attack errors and a service ace by Harris for an 11-3 advantage. The Mountaineers answered with a 5-0 run to cut the USA lead to 11-8. A kill by Morrison cut the Jag lead to 12-9, but a 4-0 USA run that was aided by three Mountaineer errors and capped by a kill from Johnson, pushed the South Alabama advantage to 16-9. A kill by Harris and service ace by Soboleski gave the Jags a 20-13 lead, but App State responded with a 3-0 run to cut its deficit to 20-16. A 3-0 Jag run that featured kills by Harris and Carly Doros gave South Alabama a 23-16 lead. USA earned set point at 24-17 on a kill by Doros, assisted by Soboleski, and clinched the set 25-18 on a second kill by Doros to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
- USA went on a 4-0 run, highlighted by two kills from Harris and one kill by Walk, to open set three for a 4-0 advantage. App State cut the Jag lead to 6-2 on a kill by Victoria Wilform, but a 4-0 Jag run that featured a block-assist by Johnson and Doros gave USA a 10-2 lead. The Mountaineers cut their lead in half at 16-8 on a kill by Kincaid, but consecutive kills by Harris extended the Jaguar lead to 18-8. South Alabama later earned match point at 24-13 on a kill by Johnson, and clinched the set 25-13 on a service ace by Maddux to win the match 3-0.

NOTES
- Harris finished with a game-high 13 kills, along with a .407 hitting percentage, one service ace, two digs and one block-assist.
- Hickey recorded a game-high 17 digs, and also added one assist.
- Soboleski posted a game-high 27 assists, along with one kill, three service aces, four digs and one block-assist.
- The Jaguars finished with a .278 team hitting percentage, while App State recorded a -.011 team hitting percentage.
- The win in straight sets marked the first Jaguar sweep of App State since a 3-0 USA victory in Mobile, Alabama, in 2017.

Match 2
South Alabama 3, App State 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-16)
GAME FACTS
- USA jumped out to a 3-1 lead in set one after a service ace by Harris, but consecutive Jaguar attack errors tied the score at 3-3. App State took a 6-5 lead after a 3-0 scoring run, which was aided by a pair of USA attack errors. A Mountaineer service error and kill by Meaghan Jones gave the Jags a 7-6 advantage. South Alabama trailed 9-8 before going on a 5-0 run, highlighted by kills by Johnson and Harris, and block-assists from Walk and Harris and Soboleski and Walk, to take a 13-9 lead. Two block-assists by Walk and Harris and one from Walk and Doros were part of a 5-0 USA scoring run that gave the Jags an 18-10 lead. South Alabama later earned set point at 24-13 on a service ace by Juanita Monteiro-Pai, and clinched the set 25-14 on a kill by Maddux to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- App State took a 7-5 lead in set two on a kill by Daryn Armstrong, but a 3-0 Jaguar run that featured kills by Maddux and Johnson doubled the USA lead to 10-5. Consecutive kills by Johnson and Walk and a Mountaineer attack error gave the Jags a 13-6 advantage, and a kill by Harris doubled the USA lead to 14-7. App State cut the Jag lead to 14-10 with a 3-0 scoring run, but a Sophie Cain service error extended the USA lead to 15-10. A 4-0 Jaguar run that featured a pair of kills by Maddux pushed the USA lead to 20-13. The Mountaineers answered with a 3-0 run to cut the Jag lead to 20-16. South Alabama earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Harris, and clinched the set 25-19 on an App State attack error to cap a 3-0 run and take a 2-0 lead in the match. 
- App State held a 6-3 lead in set three, but the Jaguars answered with a 5-0 run, highlighted by a pair of kill by Maddux and service ace by Monteiro-Pai, to take an 8-6 lead. A Jaguar service error tied the score 9-9, but a kill by Harris and consecutive service aces by Hickey gave USA a 12-9 advantage. A 5-0 Jag run that featured a pair of kills by Doros and one kill by Soboleski increased the South Alabama lead to 17-11. USA later earned match point at 24-16 on an App State attack error, and clinched the set 25-16 on a service ace by Maddux to clinch the match 3-0. 

NOTES
- Maddux finished with a game-high 14 kills, marking her highest career total in a Sun Belt Conference contest, along with a .385 hitting percentage, one service ace, three digs and one block.
- South Alabama recorded a season-best .365 team hitting percentage with 37 kills and 10 errors on 74 total attacks. 
- The Jaguars also recorded a season high in service aces with eight.
- Hickey finished with a game-high 18 digs, and also added four assists and two service aces.
- Soboleski recorded a game-high 28 assists, along with three kills, five digs and two total blocks.
- Monteiro-Pai posted a career-high three service aces, and also added five digs.
- South Alabama improved to 8-6 all-time over App State with the sweep in match two.

QUOTES
Head Coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell
- On the doubleheader sweep:
"I would first like to give a shoutout to App; their team is battling every point and is overcoming a lot to step on the floor and grind out a lot in their opening weekend. They got better throughout the day and challenged us well in areas. I am extremely proud of our program for showing up today. It was a long bus ride yesterday and a long day today, and we showed up with a lot of energy and intent on what we wanted to accomplish. It feels great to come on the road and be able to open up with two wins. We are still grinding out a lot of kinks within ourselves, but we are still getting better every time we step on the court with earning our own points and taking care of the ball. I was definitely proud of our serving tonight and the way we defended our serve. We still have one more game that we need to focus on, and we are ready to get better again tomorrow."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Sat., Oct. 10, when it faces Appalachian State at noon (CT) in the series finale in Boone, North Carolina.

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).

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