MONROE, La. | Sarah Gooch posted her third 20-kill match of the season to lead South Alabama to a 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-18) victory and held the Jaguars remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

With the win, South Alabama (9-6, 4-0 SBC) extended its win streak to four matches. Gooch led all players with 22 kills as the junior also posted a .465 hitting percentage, committing just two attack errors. In her 66 offensive opportunities in the series, Gooch committed just two errors. The Apopka, Fla., native also posted her first career double-double in the win as she recorded a career-high 11 digs.

Cambria Gaier had 13 kills of her own, while Alexa Strandberg and Maradith O'Gorman also chipped in with eight apiece. 

Anna Loberg registered her 12th career double-double as the Jaguar setter finished the match with 35 assists and 10 digs. Briana Wilson was one of four South Alabama players to record double digits in digs with 22.

Aniya Hall led ULM (9-9, 0-4 SBC) with 15 kills, while Kennedy Plummer and Madison Derden had 13 kills each. Camryn Kines also had a match-high 27 digs for the Warhawks in the loss.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "Today's match was a gutsy performance by both teams. ULM came out swinging and was really getting after it hitting off the top of the block. They were uber aggressive with their swings, especially in bad situations. They definitely put us to the test and I like the fact that with all our kills that we had, we weren't very high error, but it an opponent is connecting on these big swings, they are going to be formidable. I love the fact that we stuck together as a team and that we were focused. When they kept coming after us, we kept working for our opportunities. I'm really proud of our group and the maturity they showed trying to get the win."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – ULM 25, South Alabama 23
•    KEY MOMENT: Derden clinched the 25-23 set win for the Warhawks with sixth kill of the frame
•    ULM led by as much as three (7-4) early on, but South Alabama battled back and took its first lead at 9-8 after a kill by Loberg
•    South later led by three (17-14), but the Warhawks rallied back over the next six points and retook the lead (19-18) after a Jag attack error
•    The Jags were able to fight off one set point and trim the ULM lead to 24-23 after Gooch's eight kill, but Derden sealed the win for the home team on the ensuing point
•    Derden record four of the Warhawks' final five points to close out the set
•    Gooch came out on fire in the opening set as she recorded eight kills and hit .571 as she didn't commit and attack error

Set 2 – South Alabama 26, ULM 24
•    KEY MOMENT: Tied 24-24, Gaier slammed home a kill to give South set point and Gooch then followed with her 13th kill to even the match
•    The Jaguars jumped out to an early lead in the second set, pushing across five of the first seven points, but ULM answered back with four unanswered points to take a 6-5 lead after a kill by Plummer
•    South later led 13-9 after a kill by Dittmar, but the Warhawks reeled off four-straight points and tied the set back up after block assists from Piekut and Kenzie Behl
•    ULM tied the set up late, but in extra points Gaier and Gooch finished things off with a kill apiece to clinch the 26-24 set win for the Jags
•    Gooch and Gaier each had five kills apiece to lead South's offense in the second set
•    Wilson also had eight digs in the frame for the Jags 

Set 3 – South Alabama 25, ULM 21
•    KEY MOMENT: Leading by just one point late in the set, Strandberg ignited a Jaguar run with three-straight kills 
•    Trailed 11-10 early in the third set, but used a 4-1 run to take a 14-11 lead
•    ULM answered back with a run of its own, a 4-0 spurt to retake the lead at 15-14 after an ace by Eden Pietrzak
•    The Warhawks trimmed the Jaguar lead to 18-17 after a kill by Plummer, South Alabama rattled off four of the next five points with the first three of the South Alabama run coming after three-straight kills by Strandberg
•    O'Gorman then capped off the scoring and gave South a 23-18 lead
•    ULM got as close as two (23-21) after back-to-back kills by Hall and an ace from Kines, but the Jaguars took the next two points after kills by O'Gorman and Rachel Rossman
•    Gooch again led the way offensively for South Alabama in the third set as she posted five kills and hit .500
•    South Alabama posted its best offensive numbers in the third set, hitting .324 and committing just four attack errors

Set 4 – South Alabama 25, ULM 18
•    KEY MOMENT: Trailing by three, Gaier and Heffner led a 7-0 Jaguar run to give the visitors the lead for good
•    South Alabama led 9-6 after a kill by Gooch – her 20th of the match – but coming out of a time out, ULM answered back with a with six-straight points to take the lead, 12-9
•    Piekut led the Warhawks during the run with a pair of kills and a block assist
•    With ULM leading by three (15-12), Gaier and Heffner ignited a 7-0 run with a kill each
•    Gaier posted three total kills during the pivotal run, while Dittmar had two and teamed up with Heffner for a block
•    O'Gorman later posted back-to-back kills to put South at set point, and Heffner then dropped in her second ace of the match to clinch the 25-18 victory

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the 31st in the all-time series, as South holds a 24-7 advantage, and has won 13-straight in the series
•    South Alabama's Jesse Ortiz improved to 9-0 against the Warhawks and 5-0 in the series in Monroe
•    In the series, Gooch recorded four or more kills in six of her seven sets played
•    Gaier now has 23 sets of four or more this fall, while Gooch now has 24
•    Gooch also now has 46 sets with four or more kills in her Jaguar career, including 17 of six or more
•    Gooch averaged seven kills a set in the first set in both matches of the series
•    Both matches in the series, Gaier and Gooch each had five kills in the second set
•    Gooch has reached double figures in kills 11 times – 25 for her career – this season, while Gaier has done so in nine of her last 11 matches (10 total)
•    Gaier has recorded 12 or more kills in 10 of her last 13, and Gooch has had 12 or more kills in nine of her last 11
•    Gooch has hit .310 or better in eight of her last 10 matches and had a block in eight of her last 12
•    O'Gorman has had seven or more digs in 11 of her 15 matches this fall
•    Dating back to last season, Wilson has posted 15 or more digs in 28 of her last 34 matches, and has had 13 or more digs in 14 of her 15 matches
•    Wilson (903) also reached the 900-dig mark for her career
•    Loberg (1,515) eclipsed the 1,500 assists mark for her career
•    The double-double was the 12th of Loberg's career

Up Next
•    South Alabama will continue its four-match road trip with two more matches at Texas State next weekend. Match one of the series versus the Bobcats is set for Friday at 6 p.m. at Strahan Arena.

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