MOBILE, Ala. | Cambria Gaier nearly recorded her first career double-double with 19 kills and eight digs, but James Madison rallied back, taking the final two sets, to defeat South Alabama, 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 15-9) Friday night at Jag Gym.

Joining Gaier in double figures offensively for South Alabama (13-10, 8-4 SBC) was Maradith O'Gorman who ended the night with 11 kills and a career-high nine block assists. Alexa Strandberg also matched O'Gorman with nine total blocks – two solo and seven assists, while also carding a career-best four aces.

Anna Loberg was outstanding, tying career marks in kills (six) and aces (four), while also registering 44 assists and nine digs. Briana Wilson led all players with 20 digs in the loss.

James Madison (18-6, 11-1 SBC) extended its win streak to 11 with the five-set victory. Kennedy Louisell posted a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs, while also recording three aces. Ana Toumazatos added 12 kills of her own for JMU.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "I was really proud of how our players showed up tonight. I definitely thought we were the aggressors in the match, one between two of the better teams in the Sun Belt. I'm proud of our group. We're looking forward to the challenge next weekend against Arkansas State."

How It Happened
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, James Madison 16
• KEY MOMENT: South Alabama used a 7-1 run early in the opening frame to grab momentum early, en route to the nine-point set win
• JMU led 2-1, but Strandberg ignited a run of four-straight Jaguar points with a kill and an ace
• South later extended its lead out to double figures (15-5) after back-to-back kills by Eva Dittmar
• The Jaguars later took their largest lead of the set at 22-9 after another ace by Strandberg
• JMU hung around and fought of four set points by the Jags, but Dittmar finished things off with her fifth kill of the set to give the Jags the early match lead with the 25-16 win
• Strandberg had four total blocks in the set with two solo and two assists, and the middle hitter also had two of South's four aces in the frame

Set 2 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 20
• KEY MOMENT: South Alabama looked as if it had taken a 19-18 lead on a kill, which would have halted a JMU run, but the Dukes challenged the call on the play and the call was reversed, giving the point to the visitors
• JMU held the early lead in the second set, 9-6, after a Jaguar attack error, but on the ensuing point, Gaier blasted a kill from behind the three-meter line to ignite a 5-0 run
• O'Gorman capped off the run and gave South the 11-9 lead with a kill
• The Dukes tied the set back up at 12-12, but Loberg sparked another 5-0 run with a kill
• Blackwell and O'Gorman then teamed up for a block and Gaier posted another kill, before Strandberg gave the Jaguars a five-point advantage (17-12) with an ace, her third of the match
• James Madison rallied back though as Louisell ignited 7-1 run over the next eight points to put the Dukes back out in front (19-18)
• South later cut Duke lead to 21-20 after a kill by Gaier – one of her seven in the set – but JMU regained the momentum and closed out the set with four-straight points, the final coming on a kill by Toumazatos

Set 3 – South Alabama 25, James Madison 18
• KEY MOMENT: Coming out of the intermission, South Alabama grabbed control right out of the gate, taking five of the first six points
• The Jaguars later used a run of five unanswered points to take a nine-point lead after a kill by Gaier and a JMU attack error
• The Dukes were only able to get as close as five the rest of the way
• Blackwell later sealed the 25-18, third-set win with a kill
• The Jaguar defense held JMU to a .061 hitting percentage in the frame, while the offense posted 15 kills and a .270 percentage
• Gaier had another big set for the Jaguars posting six kills

Set 4 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 18
• KEY MOMENT: With James Madison holding a one-point advantage (7-6), the Dukes gained some breathing room over the next four points
• South Alabama was able to trim the deficit to two (14-12) after a kill by Gaier, but James Madison was able to extend its lead out to as much as seven over the next eight points
• Ayen Nhial put the Dukes up by six (20-14) with a kill, and Melissa Ilter later evened the match at a set apiece with her fourth kill of the set clinch the 25-18 set win
• JMU posted its best offensive numbers of the match in the fourth set, recording 15 kills and a .367 hitting percentage

Set 5 – James Madison 15, South Alabama 9
• KEY MOMENT: James Madison opened up the final frame with five unanswered points and never trailed
• JMU opened the fifth set on a 5-0 run with three of those points coming on aces by Louisell, and then led 8-4 at the crossover after a kill by Wilson
• South Alabama tried to rally, getting as close as three down the stretch, the last coming at 12-9 after a kill by O'Gorman and a block by the senior and Strandberg
• Coming out of a time out thought, JMU pushed across the final three points to close out the match
• Ilter and Wilson sealed the 15-9 win for the Dukes with a block

Post-Match Notes
• The 20 digs marked the 16th time in her career that Wilson has eclipsed the mark and the eighth time this season
• Wilson (1,058) is just four digs shy of moving into the Top 10 in career digs at South
• Gaier has recorded 12 or more kills in 17 of her last 21, recorded double figures 18 times, and has led the Jaguar offense in seven of her last eight matches
• Gaier now leads the club with 41 sets of four or more kills, including nine with six or more, and has done so in 27 of her 43 Sun Belt Conference sets played
• Gaier's seven kills in the second set were her second-most this fall in a single set
• Loberg (1,839) eclipsed the 1,800-assists mark for her career, and also passed Marie-Anne Grondin (1,807, 2001-04) to move into eighth place all-time at South Alabama in the career category
• Blackwell has had seven or more kills in 12 of her 18 matches this fall
• Blackwell has posted eight or more points in 15 of her 18 matches
• O'Gorman has had multi-block matches in 15 of her last 19, and has eight or more kills in six of her last seven matches (73 total
• With her nine blocks, Strandberg has had multiple blocks in 12 of her last 14 matches

Up Next
• South Alabama will welcome Arkansas State to Jag Gym for a two-match series next week. The Jaguars will host the Red Wolves on Friday night with first serve of the series opener set for 6 p.m. at Jag Gym.

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