MOBILE, Ala. - South Alabama (9-3) finished the Alabama Showdown vs UAB (2-10) with a four set win on Saturday in Jag Gym.

Set one was a fiery back and forth bout. UAB hit .344, and USA landed .343. The score showed as neither team had the edge until South pulled away late. South finished the set with five aces from four different players, Niki Capizzi, Maddie Soboleski, two from Kailey Keeble, and the set point from Hannah Maddux. 

The second set was a defensive showcase at the net. To break an even 9-9, Lillie Simons teamed up with Maddux for a block, then turned around and blocked two more immediately after with Abryanna Cannon. Simons and Cannon then showed off their solo acts going for back-to-back solo blocks late in the round for a 25-18 Jaguar set.

In the middle of set three, the Jags gave up a 6-0 run and worked the rest of the set out of it. Capizzi stepped up with a kill, then scored another off the back line with an ace. In a final push, Simons and Cannon forced a block, then Soboleski and Capizzi hopped up for another. The blocks were not enough as the Blazers took set three, 25-19.

The Jaguars flashed to a 10-2 lead highlighted by the team's ninth block of the day by Capizzi and Soboleski and a service ace by Anna Loberg. Capizzi then took control, scoring three kills in a five point stretch for the Jags, then handed the baton to Cannon for the home stretch. Cannon pushed South to the finish line scoring the squad's final two points for a 25-20 win.

Kailey Keeble's 48 assists were spread around, as four different Jaguars had 10 or more kills. Soboleski led the team with 15 kills, followed by Cannon with 13, Capizzi with 11, and Maddux with 10. Capizzi, Loberg, and Keeble finished with two service aces each, and Maddux and Soboleski added one apiece to make the team total at eight. Simons totaled five blocks, Cannon four, and Capizzi three, while Soboleski earned two block assists and Maddux earned one. 

NOTES
- This is the third match this season where four Jaguars finished with 10+ kills.
- USA has now tallied eight service aces in six different matches.
- Today's is the fourth match this season where three different players tallied double-digit digs.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Ortiz
On today's performance
"In today's game I thought Niki (Capizzi) did great. She was obviously a force. They had a hard time stopping her. Hannah (Maddux) is always just a handful with her arm speed and her ability to jump. All credit to UAB, they came here to fight, took a set off of us, but I feel like we were in command most of the time."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars will host Southern Miss Sept. 21 and 22, with both matches at 6 p.m. to begin conference play.

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—USA—