University of South Alabama Athletics

MOBILE, Ala. | Dalayla Blackwell and Cambria Gaier led South Alabama with 15 kills apiece, but Rice rallied back to take the match 3-2 (18-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17, 15-13) Friday night at the Jaguar Classic held at Jaguar Gym.

With the loss, South Alabama falls to 0-1 on the young season, while Rice improves to 1-0.

In addition to her 15 kills, Blackwell also posted a team-high six total blocks – one solo and five assists, while Gaier had two aces and four digs.

Eva Dittmar also finished in double figures offensively with 11 kills, while Sarah Gooch had eight kills and 13 digs. Freshman setter Anabelle Cerny posted a double-double in her first-career match with 40 assists and 19 digs. Addison Hurst also registered a career-best 20 digs in the loss.

Sydnee Peterson led all players with 24 kills and 13 digs. Kellen Dorotick also ended the night in double figures offensively with 13 kills, and Kaia Mateo was credited with 48 assists, 10 digs and four block assists. 

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "Credit to Rice, they're a very serious team. We knew when we scheduled them a few years ago that they were going to be tough. They were tough then and as you see; we played them pretty tough tonight. I have a mixed-age group. We have some people who have been here for a minute, and some youngsters out there that a carrying some big roles. Overall, I'm proud and pleased with how we attacked it. We went out there and tried to win the match, it just wasn't our night tonight. I do think there is a lot for us to build on. The biggest thing for us is to be the best version of ourselves at the end of the season."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – South Alabama 25, Rice 18
•    KEY MOMENT: Rice looked as if it had cut the Jaguar lead to three when Gooch's attack was originally called out, but a Jaguar challenge overturned the call to give South a 21-16 lead
•    Holding just a one-point advantage (17-16), South Alabama closed the set on an 8-2 run
•    Gaier led all players in the opening set with six kills and a .308 hitting percentage to go along with a solo block
•    Three other Jaguars recorded three kills – Gooch, Dittmar and Blackwell – as Cerny dished out 14 assists
•    South's defense held Rice to an .037 attack percentage in the opening frame

Set 2 – Rice 25, South Alabama 18
•    KEY MOMENT: Tied 10-10 in the second set, Peterson led an 8-1 Rice run as she recorded five of her seven kills in the set during the scoring spurt
•    Stephanie Gutierrez also added a pair of blocks during the run for the Owls
•    Peterson capped off the pivotal run and gave Rice the 18-11 advantage with three-straight kills by the outside hitter
•    Offensively, Rice posted 16 kills in the set on 36 attack for a .389 hitting percentage, committing just two errors

Set 3 – South Alabama 25, Rice 19
•    KEY MOMENT: With South Alabama holding a three-point advantage (20-17) late in the third set, Blackwell posted two straight points on a kill and a solo block to help the Jags double their lead
•    Rice jumped out to an early five-point lead (8-3) in the third set after a solo block by Amalia Simmons, but on the ensuing point, Alexa Strandberg ignited a 6-0 Jaguar run with a kill
•    Gaier then added a pair of aces and capped of the run with a kill to put the Jags up 9-8 on a call that was originally ruled out, but overturned on a challenge
•    South led 12-10 after a block by Blackwell and Gooch, but Rice answered with two straight-points to tie the set back up 
•    The Owls cut the Jaguar advantage to 20-17 after another kill by Peterson, but Blackwell registered a solo block and a kill on the next two points, and after an Owl attack error, the South lead grew to 23-17
•    Gaier later sealed the set win with her 12th kill of the night
•    Peterson recorded another strong set as she posted six kills and a .600 hitting percentage as she didn't commit an attack error in her 10 attempts
•    Gaier led South Alabama with five kills and a .444 hitting percentage

Set 4 – Rice 25, South Alabama 17
•    KEY MOMENT: Rice used a pair of early runs to build a double-digit lead to start the fourth set
•    Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Owls opened the fourth set with a 5-0 run with Dorotick providing most of the scoring during the run with three kills and a block assist
•    After a kill by Blackwell, Rice used a run of six unanswered points to build its lead to 10 (11-1) after a kill by Peterson and block assists from Mateo and Gutierrez
•    After Rice's lead grew to as much as 12 in the set, South Alabama tried to mount a rally, cutting the deficit to as little as seven twice with the last time coming at 22-15 after a kill by Blackwell
•    The Owls were efficient on offense in the set as they posted 17 kills and a .343 hitting percentage
•    Peterson and Dorotick finished with seven and five kills to lead the Rice offense in the set

Set 5 – Rice 15, South Alabama 13
•    KEY MOMENT: Tied at 13-13, Peterson recorded her 24th kill of the night to put Rice up for good and the Owls then took the final point on a bad set to clinch the match
•    Rice took the first two points of the match after block assists by Dorotick and Arissa Smith and a kill by the latter, one of her three kills in the set
•    The Owls' largest lead of the set was two and there were seven ties
•    Dittmar tied the set back up at 13-13 before Rice was able to take the final two points

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the third in the all-time series
•    The 13 digs by Gooch were a new career best
•    Blackwell tied a career high with her 15 kills, matching her total against Tulane last season
•    With her six total blocks, Blackwell surpassed the 175-block mark for her career as she now has 178
•    Marissa Taix also finished with 11 digs off the bench in her first action as a Jag

Up Next
•    South Alabama will continue play at the Jaguar Classic when it takes on Mississippi State on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Jag Gym.

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