University of South Alabama Athletics

MOBILE, Ala. | Eva Dittmar and Dalayla Blackwell combined for 26 kills as South Alabama completed the series sweep with a 3-1 (25-15, 27-29, 26-24, 25-19) win over Louisiana Tech Saturday at Jaguar Gym.

With the win, South Alabama improves to 7-9 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. 

Dittmar led the club with 15 kills and posted a .467 attack percentage, while Blackwell recorded 11 kills and a .529 attack percentage. Blackwell also added three block assists – one of five Jaguar players with three or more blocks in the match.

Anabelle Cerny posted four of South's 12 service aces in the match – matching a season-high for the Jag freshman. Addison Hurst added three aces and 10 digs, while Marissa Taix also had two aces.

Louisiana Tech (7-11, 0-4 SBC) was led by Taylor Woods' 15 kills and Kylie Rodriguez's 10 kills.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "A lot of credit to Louisiana Tech. They have a lot of athleticism and arm speed. I think Taylor Woods is a tremendous addition to the Sun Belt Conference; she's a great outside hitter. As they got better being able to pass out serves, they were more in the game and more in the fight.

"I thought we played with a lot of tenacity. We were tested and I appreciate the fact that we stayed aggressive. We could have waited it out, and you can't do that in the Sun Belt, you'll lose matches that way. I'm happy we got the 'W."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 15
•    KEY MOMENT: Tied at 7-7, South Alabama reeled off six unanswered points to take the lead for good, three coming off kills by Dittmar
•    Alexa Strandberg capped off the scoring and put South up 13-7 in the opening set with a kill of her own
•    Still holding a six-point advantage (19-13), Blackwell and Dittmar added two more kills and Hurst posted an ace to give the Jags their largest lead, 22-13
•    Louisiana Tech answered back with the next two points, but South Alabama pushed across the final three points after two more kills by Dittmar – who had seven in the opening frame – and an ace by Cerny
•    South Alabama had four aces in the first set and posted a .481 attack percentage as the Jaguars didn't commit an error 

Set 2 – Louisiana Tech 29, South Alabama 27
•    KEY MOMENT: Louisiana Tech fought off four different set points and pushed across the final three points to pick up the set win
•    Both teams led by as much as three in the second set 
•    South led by two late, but the Bulldogs tied the set back up at 19 after a kill by Gabrielle Hairston and an ace by Sydnee Carter 
•    The ensuing serve by Carter was long on the next point, and after a Tech attack error, Blackwell gave South the 22-19 lead with a kill
•    The Bulldogs answered back with four of the next five points and tied the set up (23-23) after a kill by Taylor McKinnie
•    In extra points, South held set point four different times, but Jenna Hehman tied the set at 27-27, and after a Jaguar attack error, Louisiana Tech was able to even the match and take the set (29-27) after a kill by Hairston
•    Louisiana Tech finished the second set with a .353 hitting percentage

Set 3 – South Alabama 26, Louisiana Tech 24
•    KEY MOMENT: With South trailing by two, Elyse Heffner sparked a three-point run for the Jaguars with a kill and an ace
•    Leading by one, Dittmar and Alivia Freeman recorded three of South's next four points to help the Jags take a five-point lead (20-15) late in the third set
•    Coming out of a time out, the Bulldogs responded back with seven-unanswered points to claim the lead
•    Rodriguez cut the Jaguar lead to 20-19 after a kill, and coming out of South Alabama time out, Tech continued its run with Jag attack error, ace by Carter and a kill by Hehman kill (22-20)
•    South was able to tie the set back up (23-23) after a kill by Heffner and an attack error after Woods was called in the net
•    Following a time out by Louisiana Tech, Heffner dropped in an ace to give South set point
•    After a point by the Bulldogs, Tech committed an attack error and Blackwell then posted a kill to seal the 26-24 win for the Jaguars
•    Dittmar led South Alabama in the set offensively with five kills

Set 4 – South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 19
•    KEY MOMENT: After Tech had pulled within one, South Alabama closed out the match with the final five points to clinch the win 
•    Tied (2-2) after the first four points of the fourth set, the Jaguars pushed across seven of the next nine points 
•    Blackwell highlighted the early run with a pair of kills and a block assists, and Addison Hurst gave South the 9-4 lead with an ace, her third of the match
•    With South holding a 20-15 lead, Louisiana Tech pushed across four-straight points 
•    Woods and Hairston teamed up on a block and Hairston then recorded a solo block
•    Woods then posted a kill and Carter's ace found the back of the court to cut the Jag lead to 20-19 and force a time out
•    Coming out of the time out, Louisiana Tech committed back-to-back attack errors 
•    Blackwell and Gooch then followed with kills to give South set point, and on the ensuing rally, Gooch teamed up with Strandberg to turn back a Bulldog attack
•    The Jaguar defense held Tech to a .043 hitting percentage in the final frame

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the 20th in the all-time series 
•    Since the league began series play in 2020, the Jags are now 11-3 during the opening home weekend of conference action
•    Hurst now has multiple service six times this fall and in each of her last four matches
•    The seven kills in the first set by Dittmar set a new career-best for the junior for sets in a single set
•    Dittmar now has 13 sets of four or more kills this fall and 27 for her career
•    Dittmar also surpassed the 300-kill mark for her career in the opening set as she now has 311
•    Dittmar has recorded six or more kills in 10 of her last 12 matches
•    With her 11 kills, Blackwell reached 450 for her career, and has had three or more total blocks 11 of her 16 matches
•    Blackwell has hit .357 or better in seven of her last 11
•    South Alabama recorded 22 service aces in the series versus the Bulldogs

Up Next
•    South Alabama will head back out on the road for a two-match SBC series with Arkansas State. First serve of the series opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m. at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Ark.

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