MOBILE, Ala. | Lafayette, La., native
Dalayla Blackwell posted a career-high 18 kills with a .519 hitting percentage as South Alabama picked up a 3-2 (25-15, 25-16, 21-25, 12-25, 15-12) victory over Louisiana Saturday afternoon at Jaguar Gym.
Blackwell was one of three players for South Alabama (8-12, 3-5 SBC) to post double-digit kill tallies in the win as
Sarah Gooch added 13 kills of her own and
Alivia Freeman finished with a season-high 11.
Gooch also led the team with four total blocks – two solo and two assists – while she added 14 digs for her third career double-double.
Anabelle Cerny also recorded a double-double – her 11th of the season – with 48 assists and 15 digs.
Addison Hurst added 18 digs of her own and led the team with three service aces.
Louisiana (10-11, 5-3 SBC) was paced offensively by Sarah Schnell's 15 kills.
Quotable – head coach
Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "Louisiana is a really good Sun Belt team, and of course the West Division is going to get after each other. I was really proud of how we played in the first three sets. Even though we didn't close out the third one, I thought we played really well. You get tested in some of these types of matches, and I appreciate the fact that as we were tested today, we were able to come home with the 'W. I was really proud of how our girls responded from yesterday. That was tremendous and I'm looking for more of that out of our team."
- On the play of the middle hitter duo of
Dalayla Blackwell and
Alivia Freeman: "Both of them have been super-human all season, and everyone has work against them. I know there are other good middles out there, but I don't know if there is anyone who has a better collection of two. I'm really proud of their progression. Dalayla has just become this force of nature. For a kid from Lafayette, it was pretty special to see her play that way against her hometown team."
How It Happened
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana 15
•
KEY MOMENT: Tied early on in the set, the Jaguars rattled off a 9-1 run to grab the momentum
• With the two clubs tied (5-5) early on in the opening set, South erupted with nine of the next 10 points
• Gooch ignited the run with her second kill of the set and Blackwell followed with a pair of kills before
Addison Hurst gave South Alabama the 10-6 lead with an ace
• After a UL point, the Jaguars pushed across four more points – two kills by Freeman, a kill by
Elyse Heffner and an ace by Cerny – that extended South's lead to seven (14-7)
• South Alabama grabbed a double-digit lead (22-12) later in the set after another ace by Hurst and a kill by Freeman – one of her five in the set
• The Jaguars posted 16 kills and a blistering .359 hitting percentage in the opening frame, and recorded 23 digs, seven of which came from Hurst
Set 2 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana 16
•
KEY MOMENT: The Jags took control right from the start of the second set as they opened the frame on a 6-0 run and led wire-to-wire
• South Alabama came out on fire on both sides of the net to open the second set, reeling off six unanswered points, with all but two coming from the duo of Gooch and Freeman
• Gooch recorded a pair of blocks – one solo and one assist – and a kill, while Freeman also had a kill and a block assist during the run
• The Jaguars kept riding the momentum and later extended its lead out to double figures (13-3) after a kill by Blackwell, an ace by Gooch, a kill by Cerny and an attack error by the Ragin' Cajuns
• South Alabama went on to lead by as much as 12 (18-6) after back-to-back block assists by Freeman and Heffner
• Heffner later sealed the 25-16 set win with her fifth kill of the match, tying a career high for the sophomore
• The Jags once again were extremely efficient as they hit .333 for the set, committing just three attack errors
• The South Alabama defense also held the Ragin' Cajuns to a -.026 hitting percentage, forcing nine attack errors, as a result of four total blocks – one solo and six block assists
Set 3 – Louisiana 25, South Alabama 21
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KEY MOMENT: Trailing by 10, Louisiana pushed across 20 of the next 26 points to rally back and take the set
• For the second set in a row, South Alabama grabbed the momentum from the outset, opening the frame with five-straight points
• Following a serving error – one of 13 in the match for UL – Heffner and Gooch posted kills, Freeman followed with an ace and Blackwell and Gooch teamed up on the block
• UL cut the deficit in half (8-4), but South answered back with seven of next eight points to grab a 15-5 advantage at the media time out
• USA began the run with four-straight points – two kills by Blackwell, and kills by Dittmar and Gooch – and after a UL point followed by a Cajun serving error, Freeman (kill) and Hurst (ace) gave South the 10-point advantage
• With South leading by eight (16-8), UL pushed across five of the next six points to cut the Jaguar lead in half, and force a time out
• After a kill by Gooch, the Ragin' Cajuns continued to claw their way back with three-more points, cutting the deficit to two (18-16) after a kill by Sarah Schnell
• UL pulled within one (19-18) three points later after an Emily Williams ace, one of three in the set by Louisiana
• South Alabama led 21-19 after a kill by Blackwell, but UL closed out the set with the final six points
• Following a Jaguar serving error, the Ragin' Cajuns tied the set up and then took a 22-21 lead after block assists by Harley Krause, Lindsey Henry and Jazmine Gaston
• Henry and Krause later sealed the 25-21 win with back-to-back kills
• Louisiana bounced back and hit .323 in the set
Set 4 – Louisiana 25, South Alabama 12
•
KEY MOMENT: After South Alabama had cut the deficit to four midway through the set, Louisiana took control for good, closing the set by taking 12 of the final 15 points
• Riding the momentum of the come-back victory in the previous set, Louisiana opened the fourth set by picking up the first four points
• South Alabama battled back and trimmed the Cajun lead to three (10-7) after a kill by Dittmar and an attack error, but UL responded with the next three points to double its lead
• Holding a 13-9 advantage, the Ragin' Cajuns picked up seven of the next eight points to extend their lead out to double figures (20-10) following an ace by Williams
• Louisiana later evened the match (2-2) after an ace by Lolo Lambert clinched the 13-point (25-12) victory
• Like the third set, the Ragin' Cajuns closed strong, ending the frame by picking up 10 of the final 12 points
Set 5 – South Alabama 15, Louisiana 12
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KEY MOMENT: Tied late in the set, UL's Lambert tried to drop a kill just over the net, but it hit the top of the net and was unable to trickle over giving South the lead for good, while Heffner's serve on the following point landed just inside the back right corner
• Neither team was able to gain more than a two-point advantage until the very end of the set
• There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the set
• Tied 11-11, South Alabama was able to take the lead for good when it pushed across two-straight points, the first coming on an attack error when Lambert's attempt was unable to get over the net
• On the ensuing possession, Heffner found the back right corner of the court for an ace
• After UL picked up a point, Blackwell recorded her 18th kill of the match to put South Alabama at set point, and following a time out, the Cajuns committed an attack error when Gaston's attempt went into the net, her lone error of the match, giving the Jaguars a 15-12 win
Post-Match Notes
• The meeting marked the 65th in the all-time series and the 28th in Mobile
• South Alabama has now won six of the last seven series meetings on its home floor
• With her 18 kills, Blackwell also reached the 500-kill mark for her career
• Blackwell has had double-digit kills in each of her last five – 11 on the season – 61 total over that stretch
• Blackwell has hit .353 or better in nine of her last 15
• Hurst also surpassed the 700-dig mark for her career as she now has 701
• With her three aces, Hurst has recorded two or more service aces in six of her last eight, and done so nine times this fall
• Gooch has recorded a solo block in seven of her last nine matches and has 14 this season
• Gooch double-digit kills in four of her last six and eight or more digs in each of her last four
• Cerny has had nine or more digs in 14 of her 20 matches this season, and recorded a double-double in three of her last four
• Her 11 double-doubles are now tied for 15th-most in a single season with former Jags Emily Hundt (2013), Juliana Almeida (2009), Holly Miller (2001) and Jennifer Autry (1989)
• Freeman, three or more blocks in each of her last six, leading the club in the category three times
• Freeman has had seven or more kills in six of her last eight
Up Next
• South Alabama will head to in-state SBC rival Troy for a two-match series. First serve versus the Trojans is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday night at Trojan Arena.
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