MOBILE, Ala. | In a battle of West Division co-leaders, South Alabama picked up a huge 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18) victory over Southern Miss Friday night at Jag Gym in the series opener.

Cambria Gaier led a balanced offensive attack for South Alabama (11-7, 6-1 SBC) as the freshman posted a match-high 11 kills. Sarah Gooch added nine kills of her own, seven digs and a pair of aces, while Dalayla Blackwell and Maradith O'Gorman chipped in with eight kills apiece.

Blackwell also led the club with five total blocks – two solo and three assists – as the Jags held a 10.0-2.0 advantage in the category.

Jaguar setter Anna Loberg posted her 13th career double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs, in addition to three block assists.

Southern Miss (13-5, 5-2 SBC) was paced by Sadie McAda's 10 kills and 11 digs in the loss.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the play of the team in the match: "I thought our players played really well tonight. Southern Miss has been a formidable team all year and they've beaten some really good teams in our conference. We knew the match was going to be a dog-fight; we just worked to overwhelm them. It helps when you have a player like Anna (Loberg) who is constantly throwing the ball open 

- On Maradith O'Gorman and Dalayla Blackwell stepping up tonight in addition to Cambria Gaier and Sarah Gooch: "I feel like we have a lot of depth and that we're strong at every position. If you want to double someone on our team, then someone else is going to be open, and Anna's really smart about spreading it around."

Senior (RS) setter Anna Loberg
- On getting the win against a quality opponent: "It means a lot, but we just go into every weekend with the same intention. We know each match is going to be a dog-fight and that we just need to play our game, and mentally prepare ourselves every day in practice for that."  

- On the offensive depth that she has to choose from as a setter: "I can count on any of my teammates to put the ball away or get a block. They all want the ball and they can put away when they have those opportunities. It's special to have them on the court with me."

- On being ready for the series finale on Saturday: "We know Southern Miss is going to come at us tomorrow, and we have to come back tomorrow ready to fight. We're going to have to fight even harder than we did tonight."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, Southern Miss 20
•    KEY MOMENT: Southern Miss trimmed the Jaguar lead to two late in the opening frame, but South was able to regain control with three-straight points from the duo of Dalayla Blackwell and Maradith O'Gorman
•    USM grabbed four of the first five points, but with the Jags trailing 6-4, South pushed across four-straight points to take its first lead of the match, and led by two (8-6) after kills by O'Gorman, Gooch, Loberg and Gaier •    Southern Miss tied the set back up two points later, but the Jaguars used another 5-0 spurt to retake the lead, and went up 13-8 after a kill by Blackwell
•    USM pulled within two (20-18) after a kill by Gaby Zovko, but South quickly regained momentum as Blackwell and O'Gorman each recorded a kill and teamed up for a block
•    Blackwell later put the Jags at set point with her fifth kill of the frame, and after USM fought off one point, Gooch sealed the 25-20 with a kill of her own
•    In addition to Blackwell's five kills, Gooch and Gaier each had four kills in the first set, and as a team, South had 18 kills and hit .359

Set 2 – South Alabama 25, Southern Miss 21
•    KEY MOMENT: Southern Miss pulled within one late in the set, but coming out of a time out, Gaier and Gooch recorded three-straight points to lead the Jags to the set win
•    South led 7-4 after a Golden Eagle attack error, but USM used an 8-1 run over the next nine points to take the lead
•    After an ace by Morgen Durgens and a Jaguar attack error, Southern Miss led 12-8
•    South Alabama answered right back though with a 6-1 run of its own as four different Jaguars recorded a kill, including two by Gooch
•    Blackwell put the Jags back on top with her seventh kill of the night and then on the next point, O'Gorman capped off the scoring and gave South a 15-13 advantage heading into the media time out
•    USM again pulled within one (16-15), but South Alabama rattled off five of the next six points and took a 22-16 after kills by Gaier and Elyse Heffner
•    Southern Miss pushed across five unanswered points and trimmed the Jaguar lead to 22-21, but coming out of a time out, Gaier slammed home a kill
•    Gooch then put South at set point with her eighth kill, and Gaier followed with her eight put away on the ensuing point to clinch the 25-21 win

Set 3 – South Alabama 25, Southern Miss 18
•    KEY MOMENT: Loberg set the tone out of the gate as the Jaguar setter began the third and final set with back-to-back aces, and South Alabama led wire-to-wire
•    With South holding a 4-3 advantage early on in the set, the Jaguars rattled off a 9-3 run over the next 12 points to take a seven-point lead at 13-6
•    The Jags later led 15-9 after solo block by Blackwell, and then 20-14 after another block, this one by Loberg and O'Gorman
•    Gaier sealed the match victory and the 25-18 set with two-straight kills to end the match

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the 58th in the all-time series (USA leads 36-21) and 16-8 in Mobile
•    Since USM joined the Sun Belt Conference, South has won six of the seven meetings, and since the 2012 season the Jaguars have also won 12 of the last 14 series meetings
•    Wilson recorded 10 digs in both the second and third sets
•    Loberg recorded her 13th career double-double and eclipsed the 1,600 assists mark for her career as she now has 1,625 during her Jaguar career
•    The 24-dig performance marked her sixth 20-dig match of the season and the 15th of her career
•    Wilson (964) is 34 digs shy of 1,000 for her career
•    Both Gooch and Gaier had multiple sets for four kills in the match
•    Gooch now has 31 sets with four or more kills, while Gaier has 30 sets this fall
•    Gooch also now has 53 sets with four or more kills in her Jaguar career, including 17 of six or more
•    With her 11 kills, Gaier has recorded double-digit kills in 12 of her last 14 matches (13 total)
•    Blackwell has had five or more kills in 12 of her 13 matches this fall, and has posted eight or more points in 10 of those matches
•    Loberg has had an ace in 11 her last 14 and in 13 of her last 17 matches

Up Next
•    South Alabama will close out the series with the Golden Eagles on Saturday with first serve set for 1 p.m.

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