MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama used a balanced offensive attack Thursday evening and opened up the series with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-16) win over ULM at Jaguar Gym.
Cambria Gaier – playing in her first match since the opening weekend of conference play – and
Dalayla Blackwell led the way for South Alabama (10-13, 5-6 SBC) with 10 kills apiece, while
Sarah Gooch added nine kills. Gooch didn't commit an attack error in any of her 24 attacks to finish with a .375 hitting percentage, while Blackwell posted a .471 percentage of her own and led the club with five block assists.
Anabelle Cenry recorded her fifth-straight double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs to go along with three service aces.
Addison Hurst led all players with 15 digs.
As a team, South Alabama posted a .302 hitting percentage, finishing with 46 kills and just 11 attack errors.
Aniya Hall led ULM (9-16, 3-8 SBC) with 11 kills and 11 digs in the loss.
Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "I thought ULM came out pretty strong and had a tremendous first set. As the match went out, our consistency proved out. The girls have been putting in a tone of work on offense and being consistent, and really working on handling the pass to attack. I'm really proud of the group tonight. I thought they executed really well and stayed steady throughout."
How It Happened
Set 1 – South Alabama 27, ULM 25
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KEY MOMENT: ULM looked to be in control late as it set two points away from taking the opening frame, but Gooch and Gaier recorded kills and Cerny and
Alexa Strandberg teamed up for a block to lead a 3-0 Jaguar run
• ULM led 8-6 early, but following a kill by Gaier, South Alabama pushed across three-straight points to take a 9-8 lead after an ace by Cerny
• Trailing by one (14-13), the Warhawks answered back with three-straight points of their own to take a 16-14 lead after block assists by Abby Cunningham and Tatum Clay and a Jaguar attack error
• South Alabama answered back with three unanswered points of it own after kills by Blackwell and Gaier, and a bad set by ULM, but the one-point lead was short lived as ULM quickly reclaimed the lead with a 3-0 run of its own
• The Warhawks later held a 23-21 lead after a Jaguar serving error, but Gooch and Gaier slammed home back-to-back kills, before Cerny and Strandberg's block to put South at set point (24-23)
• Tied 25-25 in extra points, Gaier gave South Alabama the lead for good with a kill and
Eva Dittmar then clinched the two-point, set win with her second kill of the match
• Gaier was one of five South Alabama players to finish the set with three or more kills, posting five kills
Set 2 – South Alabama 25, ULM 22
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KEY MOMENT: After ULM had fought off one set point and pulled within two late,
Elyse Heffner sealed the set win and put the Jaguar up 2-0 in the match with her fourth kill of the match
• The Warhawks led by one early (4-3), but Gooch recorded a pair of kills and an ace to lead a 6-1 Jaguar run over the next seven points
• ULM trimmed the Jag lead to two (10-8), but Gooch added three more kills to ignite another 6-1 Jaguar run, as her third kill of the scoring spurt gave South Alabama a 16-7 advantage
• Warhawks five of next seven points to pull within four (18-14) after a kill and a block assist by Hall
• ULM kept hanging around over the next several points and narrowed the deficit to 23-21 after an ace by Clay – one of three in the set for the Warhawks
• After the Warhawks fought off one set point, Heffner's attack found a hole in the ULM defense to take the set 25-22
• Gooch was outstanding in the set for the Jags as she posted six kills and a .545 hitting percentage
• South Alabama committed just two attack errors in the second set and finished with a .407 hitting percentage
Set 3 – South Alabama 25, ULM 16
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KEY MOMENT: South Alabama grabbed the momentum from the first point of the set to lead wire-to-wire as it opened the third set on a 9-2 run and never looked back
• Gaier and Blackwell led the charge for the Jags to open the third set as South opened the frame by taking nine of the first 11 points
• Gaier posted three kills and a block assist, while Blackwell added a kill and a block assist of her own during the early run
• After ULM had trimmed the deficit to five (12-7), South Alabama broke things open with eight unanswered points – three coming from Blackwell after a pair of kills and a block assist
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Delaney Lawson capped off the scoring and put South up 20-7 after a kill of her own
• The Warhawks narrowed the deficit to eight on a couple of occasions before Heffner sealed the sweep with a kill
Post-Match Notes
• The meeting marked the 32nd in the all-time series and the 14th in Mobile
• With the win, South Alabama won its 14th-straight in the series and improved to 14-0 on its home floor
• Cerny has had nine or more digs in 17 of her 23 matches this season
• Cerny double-double in six of her last seven, and each of her last five
• The last time a South Alabama recorded five-straight double-doubles came during the 2024 season: (7) Abryanna Cannon, vs. Texas State (10/12/24) - at James Madison (11/2/24)
• Cerny (14) moved into a tie for eighth with former Jags Mechell Daniel (2013 & 2014), Beverly Ferren (1995) and Cannon (2024) on the single-season double-doubles list
• Blackwell has had three or more total blocks 16 of her 23 matches
• Blackwell has hit .353 or better in 10 of her last 17
• Blackwell has had double-digit kills in six of her last eight (12 on the season), 84 total over that stretch
Up Next
• South Alabama will close out the series with ULM on Friday with first serve set for 6 p.m.
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