MONROE, La. | South Alabama extended its win streak to three as the Jags remained perfect in Sun Belt Conference play with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-16) win Friday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Sarah Gooch led the Jaguars (8-6, 3-0 SBC) offensively as she was flawless not committing an attack error in any of her 23 attempts to end the night with a .565 attack percentage. Five other South Alabama players also hit above .300 with three of those hitting better than .455 as the club posted a season-high .394 percentage. The Jaguars committed a season-low five attack errors. 

The percentage was the best since South recorded a .382 [48-6-110] versus Louisiana (10/24/24). 

Cambria Gaier just missed double digits with nine kills and a .318 percentage, while Maradith O'Gorman (six kills) and Elyse Heffner (five kills) each finished the match with a .455 hitting percentage. Alexa Strandberg added seven kills of her own and a .462 hitting percentage. Strandberg and O'Gorman also posted five block assists, and South held a 9.0 – 1.0 advantage in the category in the win.

ULM dropped to 9-8 and 0-3 in league play with the loss, and was held to a .148 hitting percentage.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On his thoughts on the match: "I was really proud of our performance tonight. I felt like our group was consistent throughout all three sets. I thought ULM had a great first set. (Us) Getting to 20 kills (in the first set) was amazing. Anna (Loberg) was absolutely on fire. Sarah along with a lot of other players shined for us; it was a total team effort."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, ULM 21
•    KEY MOMENT: With the first set tied at 18-18, Heffner ignited a 4-0 Jaguar run to give South the lead for good in the frame
•    Trailing by one (7-6) early on in the opening set, Gooch ignited and had a pair of kills during a 5-1 scoring spurt for the Jaguars 
•    South Alabama led 13-9 after a solo block by Strandberg, but coming out of a time out, the Warhawks rattled off four-straight points 
•    Morgan Howard capped off the ULM run with her second ace of the set
•    Later tied 18-18, South reeled off four unanswered points with kills by Heffner and Gooch at the start of the run and then a solo block by O'Gorman and a kill by Strandberg to give the Jags a 22-18 lead
•    Strandberg later clinched the set win with her fourth kill of the night
•    Gooch led all players with seven kills in the frame and hit .583, while Gaier also chipped in with four kills
•    As a team, South posted a .391 attack percentage and committed just three errors in its 46 attacks, while also registering a season-high 21 kills in the set

Set 2 – South Alabama 25, ULM 14
•    KEY MOMENT: Holding just a one-point advantage (10-9), Gaier ignited a 7-2 run for the Jaguars
•    Tied 3-3, Gaier solo block and back-to-back kills by Gooch
•    Leading 10-9, Gaier and Gooch took over as the duo combined to record six of South's next seven points and extend the Jag lead out to 17-11
•    Gaier had three kills and an ace, while Gooch dropped in a pair of kills during the run
•    South later took a 21-12 lead after back-to-back aces by Preslee Thompson, and eventually stretched it out to double figures en route to the 25-14 set win
•    O'Gorman put the Jags up 2-0 in the match with an ace – her second of the night – and South's fourth of the set
•    Gaier (5) and Gooch (4) spurred the offense as the duo combined for nine kills and hit .400 and .667, respectively
•    As a team, South Alabama was extremely efficient on the offensive side of the net, posting a .406 attack percentage and committing just two errors

Set 3 – South Alabama 25, ULM 16
•    KEY MOMENT: Leading 12-11, South Alabama broke the set and the match open as it pushed across eight of the next 11 points
•    ULM was able to trim the Jaguar lead to one midway through the third set, but Heffner's solo block on the ensuing point ignited an 8-3 run
•    O'Gorman later capped off the scoring spurt and put South up 20-14 with a kill
•    Anna Loberg later clinched the set and the match with an ace – South Alabama's fourth of the set and ninth of the night
•    The Jaguars posted a .385 hitting percentage in the frame and didn't commit and attack error, while the defense held the Warhawks to an .061 percentage and forced nine errors

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the 30th in the all-time series, as South holds a 23-7 series advantage, including 12-straight wins
•    Ortiz is 8-0 against the Warhawks and 4-0 in the series in Monroe
•    Gooch has reached double figures in kills 10 times – 24 for her career – this season
•    Gaier now has 21 sets of four or more this fall, while Gooch now has 20
•    Gooch also now has 42 sets with four or more kills in her Jaguar career, including 16 of six or more
•    Gooch has had 12 or more kills in eight of her last 10
•    Gooch has hit .310 or better in seven of her last nine matches and had a block in eight of her last 11
•    Loberg has had an ace in nine her last 10 and in 11 of her last 13 matches
•    O'Gorman has had multi-block matches in eight of her last 10
•    Strandberg has had three or more blocks in eight of her last 10 and 11 of her 14 matches this season

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

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