Women's Volleyball Sun Belt Conference

Volleyball Scores and Recaps (Oct. 14)

JAGS DEFEAT GSU TO REMAIN PERFECT IN SBC PLAY
ATLANTA – The University of South Alabama volleyball team swept Georgia State in straight sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) Saturday at GSU Sports Arena.

USA (13-5, 8-0 SBC) extended its SBC winning streak to eight matches with the victory, while also claiming its fifth straight road win dating back to the SBC opener at Texas State on Sept. 22 in San Marcos, Texas.

South Alabama will return to action Fri., Oct. 13, when it hosts Little Rock at 6:30 p.m. at Jag Gym.

GAME FACTS
- The Jaguars recorded a .295 hitting percentage with 38 kills on 88 total attacks.
- USA posted its highest team hitting percentage in the final set with a .379 percentage after committing just two errors on 29 total attacks.
- Iva Durdanovic and Morgan Stalcup recorded four kills apiece in the opening set, in which the Jags recorded a .273 hitting percentage.
- South Alabama finished with eight total team blocks, which snapped a three-match streak in which it recorded 10 or more blocks.
- Georgia State recorded a .083 hitting percentage in the match.

NOTES
- Durdanovic and Meaghan Jones led the Jags with seven kills each. Jones finished with career highs in kills and hitting percentage (.538), and also recorded one dig and three block assists.
- Arissa Chappell led USA with 10 digs, and also added three assists and one service ace.
- Freshman Hannah Harris recorded six kills, a .429 hitting percentage, one dig and one block assist. Morgan Stalcup added six kills, a .300 hitting percentage, one dig, two solo blocks and three block assists.
- Ashlyn Roberts and Parker Harrell led the Jaguars with 13 assists apiece.
- South Alabama is 9-1 in its last 10 games.
- The Jaguars have lost just three total sets in eight SBC matches this season.
- USA improved to 10-4 all-time against Georgia State with the victory, which marked its second over the Panthers this season.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the win:
"We had a balanced offense. Our attack numbers were all very even, and we were able to just distribute the ball evenly. I also thought we had some great plays defensively. Our middle backs did a really good job playing defense tonight, which we didn't do the first time we played them (Georgia State). I thought they responded well and defended better in the middle back position with Kristina (Alabastro) and Arissa (Chappell), and that made a difference in our dig quality."

- On being unbeaten at the halfway mark of the conference schedule:
"We start the second half of our conference season this week. I thought we did a very good job throughout the first half of the conference season, and we're excited to be able to see some different teams in the upcoming weeks."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Fri., Oct. 13, when it hosts Little Rock in SBC action at 6:30 p.m. at Jag Gym.

Trojans Rally to Win 31st Consecutive Match vs. ULM
LITTLE ROCK – Down 2-1 for the match, Little Rock volleyball rallied to defeat ULM in five sets (25-15, 23-25, 23-25, 25-12, 15-10) and earned its 31st consecutive win against the Warhawks on Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center. The 31-match winning streak against ULM began in 1992.

Veronica Marin led the Trojans (7-14, 3-6 Sun Belt) with 17 kills and a .552 hitting percentage on 29 swings with just one error. She also added five total blocks (two solo and three assisted) and two aces. Sydnee Martin tallied 23 digs to extend her streak to four consecutive matches with 20-plus digs while adding seven assists. Taylor Lindberg put up her third double-double of the year with 46 assists and 12 digs while adding four total blocks (two solo and two assisted). With her 41st assist of the night, Lindberg became the sixth player in program history with 2,000 career assists. Marina Avram tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs while leading the match with six total blocks (four solo and two assisted). Avram's four solo blocks tied for the ninth-most in the rally-scoring era.

Mikaela Worley led the match with 22 kills while Tara Jenkins added 41 assists for the Warhawks (4-21, 0-8 Sun Belt). Kacey Leblanc scooped up 23 digs while Catherine Griffin tallied three total blocks.

After tying the match at 2-2 in the fourth set, Little Rock's momentum carried over to the fifth frame as it closed out the match with a five-point victory. The Trojans hit .350 for the set while ULM hit a flat .000. Marin and Mya Robinson each put down four kills during the set while Avram put up two solo blocks. Four of Little Rock's 16 blocks occurred during the fifth set.

Down 2-1 entering the fourth set, Little Rock tied the match with its best performance of the night. Little Rock hit a match-high .448 for the set while ULM hit .029. Avram and Marin each put down five kills while Lindberg tallied 11 assists. Martin scooped up seven digs while Avram had three total blocks. Blocks were big for Little Rock as it put up five during the set.

The Trojans dug themselves a hole during the third set as ULM went on to take a 2-1 lead for the match with a two-point victory. The set was by far the closest of the night as there were 18 tie scores throughout the frame. The difference in the set came down to kills as ULM put down 17 compared to Little Rock's 10.

After a 10-point thumping in the first set, ULM rebounded in the second frame with a two-point win. The Warhawks had their best set of the night statistically as they hit .361 compared to the Trojans' .278. Worley put down seven kills for the Warhawks while Marin and Daisha Gillard had four each. Sydnee Martin led the set with eight digs.

Little Rock got the match started on a hot note as it took the first set with a 10-point victory. Helping the Trojans was an 11-0 run after starting the set down 2-1. The Trojans hit well with a .342 hitting percentage while ULM got off to a slow start by hitting -.065. Gillard led the Trojans with five kills as Lindberg put up 10 digs.

Gillard finished the match with a career-high 14 kills, a .417 hitting percentage and three total blocks (two solo and one assisted). Robinson ended the match with 12 kills, an ace and six digs while Maritza Mesa tallied six kills with eight digs and two total blocks. Tamaira Armstrong earned one kill, and Kassidy Hopkins dug up three digs.

Little Rock's 11 solo blocks tied for the fourth most in program history and tied for the second most in the rally-scoring era. The team's 16 total blocks tied for the eighth-most in the rally-scoring era.

The Trojans ended the match with the advantage in kills (67-52), hitting (.302-.112), assists (59-49), aces (4-3) and blocks (16-5). Both teams tallied 71 digs for the match.

Little Rock will now hit the road to face South Alabama and Troy on Friday and Saturday in Alabama.