HARRISONBURG, Va. | The South Alabama volleyball team battled Saturday afternoon but fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) to James Madison at the Convocation Center.
South Alabama (5-9, 0-2 SBC) was led offensively by
Cambria Gaier and
Alivia Freeman, who had nine kills apiece, while
Eva Dittmar and
Dalayla Blackwell were right behind the duo with eight kills each. Blackwell also recorded three block assists in the loss.
Kennedy Louisell led all players with 10 kills and four block assists for James Madison (7-5, 2-0 SBC).
Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "JMU is a well-put together team; they had a big block. I really liked our progression in what we did. I think both of our teams will be heavy hitters in the Sun Belt Conference. We're going to keep working to get better. Like I said, I like our progression as a group, and the fact that some people had opportunities this weekend and they took advantage of those and did a good job."
How It Happened
Set 1 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 20
•
KEY MOMENT: After South pulled within two late, Louisell ignited a late JMU run with a kill
• South Alabama took advantage of some early JMU attack errors and jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the opening set after an ace by
Anabelle Cerny
• With the Jags holding a five-point advantage (12-7) later in the set, JMU pushed across five unanswered points and tied the set 12-12
• Later in the set with James Madison leading by one (17-16), the Dukes reeled off four-straight points and took a five-point lead after a Jaguar attack error and a kill by Ana Toumazatos, her second of the scoring spurt
• South Alabama was able to trim the deficit to two at 21-19 after back-to-back blocks by Blackwell, but Louisell slammed home a kill on the next point, igniting a 4-1 spurt
• Shelby Davis later dropped in an ace, her second of the set, to seal the 25-20 opening-set win
Set 2 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 22
•
KEY MOMENT: Tied at 14 midway through the set, Toumazatos recorded a pair of kills to ignite a run of three-straight points for JMU
• Blackwell tied the second set (14-14) with a kill, but Toumazatos spurred on a 3-0 spurt with a pair of kills to give JMU the lead for good
• The Dukes later led by five (23-18) after back-to-back blocks by Anna Wilson and Louisell, but
Eva Dittmar and Blackwell answered with a kill each to cut the deficit to three
• Three points later, Blackwell and Cerny teamed up on another block to cut the JMU advantage to two (24-22), but South Alabama committed a serving error on the next point to give the Dukes the 25-22 win
• Dittmar and Gaier led South with five kills apiece in the set, while Blackwell and Freeman had four apiece
• As a team, South Alabama posted its best numbers of the match in the second set as it had 18 kills and hit .448
• JMU was paced by Louisell's five kills and helped the Dukes finish the frame with a .500 attack percentage
Set 3 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 17
•
KEY MOMENT: Holding a one-point advantage, James Madison took control of the set with a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 21-13
• South Alabama again got off to a strong start leading by as much as three early on, but holding a 7-4 advantage following a kill by Gaier, James Madison pushed across four-straight points
• Dittmar brought the Jags within a point (14-13), but the Dukes quickly regained momentum and control of the match as they rattled off seven-unanswered points
• Addie Norman capped off the pivotal run with a kill and gave James Madison an eight-point lead (21-13)
• JMU's defense forced South Alabama into eight attack errors and held the Jags to a .032 hitting percentage
Post-Match Notes
• The meeting marked the 11th in the all-time series and the sixth on JMU's home floor
• With her five kills in the second set, Gaier now has 18 sets with four or more kills this fall and 75 for her career
• Dittmar has recorded six or more kills in eight of her last nine matches
• Blackwell has had three or more total blocks 10 of her 14 matches
• The nine kills by Freeman marked a season-best for the junior middle hitter in her first career start
Up Next
• South Alabama will return home to host Louisiana Tech in a two-match series with first serve of the series opener set for Thursday at 6 pm.
FOLLOW THE JAGS
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