MOBILE, Ala. |
Sarah Gooch posted a match-best 11 kills as South Alabama picked up a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-17) sweep of Louisiana Tech Thursday evening at Jaguar Gym.
Gooch also added a pair of service aces, five digs and a solo block in the win for South Alabama (6-9, 1-2 SBC).
Four other Jags –
Dalayla Blackwell (7),
Eva Dittmar (6),
Alexa Strandberg (5) and
Alivia Freeman (5) – finished with five or more kills in the match.
Freeman also posted a match-best four total blocks – one solo and three assists.
Louisiana Tech (7-10, 0-3 SBC) was paced offensively by Taylor Woods' nine kills
Quotable – head coach
Jesse Ortiz
- On the win: "I thought we played really well tonight and that we were intentional. I thought we came out and really attacked them tonight. I was really proud of the group. I appreciate everyone working hard out there tonight."
- On multiple people contributing to the win: "Tonight was a true team win. You saw a bunch of people contributing. We had two different lineups at different points of the match, whether it was a 5-1 or a 6-2. I thought we had one of our best weeks of practice this week that we've had all year. They were just really getting after each other in practice and were just so driven. I appreciate the leadership on this team. Addy (Hurst) and Sarah (Gooch) are such great leaders, and I really appreciate this group."
How It Happened
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 14
•
KEY MOMENT: South Alabama set the tone on the opening point as Strandberg and Freeman teamed up to block a shot attempt
• South Alabama grabbed the first two points of the match and opened the set up by taking six of the first eight
• Blackwell had a pair of kills during the early run and
Preslee Thompson gave the Jags a 6-2 advantage with an ace, one of South's six in the set
• Leading by four (10-6), Freeman ignited a 5-1 Jaguar run with a solo block and a kill and Strandberg sent the two teams to the media time out with South holding a 15-7 advantage after a kill of her own
• Jaguars eventually grabbed a double-digit lead (22-12) after Gooch's second ace of the set, before eventually taking the set (25-14)
• Blackwell and Freeman paced the Jaguars in the set as the duo combined for five kills, two blocks and an ace
• Blackwell led the club with four kills, while Freeman had a kill, an ace and two total blocks – one solo and one assist
Set 2 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 15
•
KEY MOMENT: With South leading 15-13, Dittmar's attack was initially ruled as an error, but a Jaguar challenge reversed the call, sparking a 4-0 run for the Jags
• Tech opened the second set on a 3-0 run, but South battled back and took its first lead of the set (8-6) with three-straight points after kills by
Anabelle Cerny, Dittmar and Blackwell
• The Bulldogs looked as if they had trimmed the South Alabama lead to one as an attack by Dittmar was initially ruled as an error, but upon review, the call was reversed, giving the Jags a three-point advantage (16-13)
• After a Tech attack error, the junior slammed home another before Hurst's service ace, which extended the South Alabama lead to six (19-13)
• From the call reversal on, the Jaguars were able to pick up 10 of the final 12 points of the set
• Freeman later sealed the 25-15 set win with a kill
• As a team, South Alabama posted 16 kills and committed just two attack errors in its 26 attempts, posting a .538 percentage
Set 3 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 17
•
KEY MOMENT: Coming out of a time out after Louisiana Tech had pulled within five late in the set, the Jaguars regained momentum after a service error and a kill by Gooch
• Tied 6-6, South was able to take the lead for good after back-to-back kills by Gooch and Blackwell kills, and after a point by Tech, Dittmar slammed home a kill and Hurst dropped in another ace – her second of the match
• The 6-1 Jaguar run was capped off by a Bulldog attack error, extending the South lead to 12-7
• Holding a 13-10, South seemed to put the match away with five unanswered with two of the final three points of the run coming off kills by Gooch
• Louisiana Tech made a charge late in the set, trimming deficit to 20-15 after a Zari Gillispie ace and block assists by Tyra McKinnie and Woods
• Coming out of a time out though, South regained momentum after a Tech service error and a kill by Gooch
•
Elyse Heffner later sealed the 25-17 win with a kill
• Gooch saved her best performance for the final frame as the senior posted seven of her 11 kills and hit .462
Post-Match Notes
• The meeting marked the 19th in the all-time series and the first since 2019
• Since the league began series play in 2020, the Jags are now 10-3 during the opening weekend of conference action
• Under Ortiz, South Alabama has won five of its six Sun Belt home openers
• Hurst now has multiple service five times this fall and in each of her last three matches
• With her five kills, Strandberg now has 250 kills for her career
• Hurst has had double-digit dig tallies in 11 of her 15 matches
• Dittmar has recorded six or more kills in nine of her last 11 matches
• Blackwell has hit .357 or better in six of her last 10
Up Next
• South Alabama will close out the series with Louisiana Tech on Saturday. First serve of the series finale is set for 12 p.m. at Jag Gym.
FOLLOW THE JAGS
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