HOUSTON | Middle hitter
Evie Taylor led the club with a career-best eight kills Friday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as South Alabama fell in straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-17) to UNLV at the Rice II Invitational hosted by the Owls and held at Tudor Fieldhouse.
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South Alabama falls to 1-3 on the young season with the loss.
Maradith O'Gorman added seven kills, while
Abryanna Cannon had six.
Lillie Simons finished with five kills on eight attacks for a .500 hitting percentage and paced the club at the net with three total blocks.
UNLV (4-0) was paced by the trio of Dakota Quinlan, Chloe Thomas and Jordyn Freeman who each had nine kills apiece. Freeman led all players with a .667 hitting percentage on 12 attacks and five block assists, while Thomas had a .562 percentage with five total blocks – one solo and four assists.
How It Happened
Set 1 – UNLV 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 22
• South Alabama held the early lead (5-4) after back-to-back kills by Taylor, but UNLV's Quinlan ignited a 6-1 run for the Rebels with a pair of kills to give them the 10-6 advantage
• Trailing 12-10, the Jaguars pushed across four unanswered points to take a 14-12 lead after kills by Taylor and O'Gorman
• South later led by four (22-18) after a kill by
Lillie Simons and a block by the graduate senior and O'Gorman
• UNLV though closed the opening set by taking seven of the final eight points to win 25-23
• The Rebels picked up the two-point win after a solo block by Thomas, who had four kills and three total blocks in the frame
• Taylor led all players with five first-set kills
• UNLV had 18 kills on 33 attempts and committed just three errors for a .394 hitting percentage
Set 2 – UNLV 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 15
• The Rebels grabbed the first four points of the second set, but the Jaguars battled back and pulled within one (6-5) after kills by Cannon and O'Gorman
• O'Gorman later tied the set up (10-10) after a kill, but UNLV answered right back with seven of the next points
• Arien Fafard dropped in a service ace to give the Rebels a 17-11 lead, while Thomas and Quinlan had two kills apiece during the run
• Like they did in the opening set, UNLV was hot offensively as it finished the frame with a .650 hitting percentage with 14 kills, one error on 20 attacks
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Set 3 – UNLV 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
• South led by one early on after a solo block by Taylor, but UNLV answered back with six-straight point to take an 8-3 lead after a kill by Thomas
• The Jaguars pulled within four (11-7) after an ace by
Anna Loberg, but the Rebels reclaimed momentum and led 18-9 after a block assists from Freeman and Quinlan
• Simons tried to held the Jags mount a late charge with a kill and a solo block fought off a pair of match points, but Freeman gave UNLV the 25-17 win with her ninth kill of the match
Post-Match Notes
• The meeting marked the first ever between the two clubs
• With her six kills, Cannon now has 300 at South Alabama
• The Rebels held a .442 (42-8-77) – .140 (33-20-93) attack percentage advantage, as well as a 9.0 – 4.0 blocks advantage at the net
• Both totals were new season highs allowed by the Jags to an opponent
Up Next
• South Alabama will continue its eighth-match road trip on Tuesday at Southeastern Louisiana. First serve versus the Lions is set for 6 p.m. in Hammond, La., at the University Center.
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