NASHVILLE | South Alabama closed out its three-match road trip with a 3-0 (21-25, 18-25, 21-25) loss to Lipscomb Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena.
Cambria Gaier led the Jags (2-4) with seven kills, while
Eva Dittmar and
Dalayla Blackwell each had six kills.
Addison Hurst led the club with 19 digs in the loss.
Lipscomb (4-1) was led offensively by the duo of Ella Durham (14) and Lexi Guinn (10).
Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On today's match: "Lipscomb is a tremendous team that is low-error. They were well-versed and you could tell that they have been playing with each other for a bit. I like how we responded today from yesterday. I thought we could have taken a lull, but we didn't. Really appreciate the great leadership of Addy (Hurst), Dalayla (Blackwell) and Cambria (Gaier). Our group is continuing to grow and this is part of our process. I'm excited about our potential, but we just have to keep clawing ourselves up."
How It Happened
Set 1 – Lipscomb 25, South Alabama 21
•
KEY MOMENT: South Alabama pulled within two late in the set, but coming out of a timeout, Guinn and Sydeny Strenger picked up the final two points for the Bison with consecutive kills
• Tied at 16-16, Lipscomb was able to push across three-straight points after kills by Strenger, Brooklyn Fuchs and Durham
• Several points later, South Alabama tried to mount a rally, but Durham recorded three-straight points for the Bison with three of her five kills in the frame
• Trailing by four (23-19), the Jaguars were able to cut the deficit in half after a kill by
Eva Dittmar and an ace by
Marissa Taix
• Coming out of a time out though, Guinn and Strenger slammed home kills to give Lipscomb the 25-21 set win
• The Jaguars didn't help themselves as they had five service errors in the frame
• Durham led Lipscomb with five kills, while Guinn (4), Anna Claire Brown (3) and Strenger (3) combined for 10 kills
Set 2 – Lipscomb 25, South Alabama 18
•
KEY MOMENT: After South Alabama had trimmed the deficit to two, Lipscomb broke things open by taking five of the next six points
• South picked up three of the first four points in the second set, but over the next seven points, Lipscomb outscored the Jags 6-1 to take a three-point lead (7-4) after an ace by Anna Claire Brown, its second of the run
• The Jags cut it to one (8-7) after Gaier's third kill of the set, but Lipscomb scored seven of the next eight points to extend its lead back out to 15-8
• Durham recorded her second kill of the run to give the Bison the seven-point advantage and send the two teams into the media time out
• Coming out of the time out, Dittmar, Blackwell and Gaier posted kills, while Hurst dropped in an ace to cap off a 5-1 run and pull the Jaguars within three (16-13)
•
Halle Norvell cut the Bison lead to 17-15, but Lipscomb answered back with five of next six points, highlighted by two kills by Guinn and a pair of block assists by Strenger and Kelsey Schenck
• Durham later sealed the 25-18 set win with a soft touch on her kill, her 10th of the match
• For the second-straight set, Durham led the Bison with five kills
Set 3 – Lipscomb 25, South Alabama 21
•
KEY MOMENT: Coming out of a timeout after South Alabama had pulled within a point, Lipscomb was able to take the final three points of the match
• Lipscomb looked as if it were going to run away early in the third set, scoring the first three points, but South Alabama scored five-straight points
• Later trailing by two (9-7), the Jags took advantage of a Bison service error, and then had consecutive kills from Strandberg and Heffner, and an ace by Gaier to grab an 11-9 lead
• With USA holding 13-11 advantage, Lipscomb pushed across six unanswered points to take a four-point lead after back-to-back aces by Schenck (17-13)
• Trailing by four (20-16), Jags rattled off four of the next five points and pulled within a point (21-20) after a kill by Blackwell, her sixth of the match
• Coming out of a time out though, Schenck dumped in a kill to end the Jaguar run and South Alabama then committed a pair of attack errors
Post-Match Notes
• The meeting marked the third in the all-time series and the first between the two clubs since 2013
• Cerny posted her double-double of the season with her 21 assists and 11 digs
• The 19 digs by Hurst were one shy of matching a career high for the senior
Up Next
• South Alabama will return home to host the South Alabama Invitational beginning on Friday when the Jags take on Kennesaw State at 6 p.m. at Jag Gym.
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