JAGS DEFEAT LITTLE ROCK, REMAIN PERFECT IN SBC PLAY
action at Jag Gym.

USA (14-5, 9-0 SBC) extended its SBC winning streak to nine matches with the victory, while also claiming its sixth straight home win dating back to Sept. 2. The Jaguars tied the program record with their ninth Sun Belt Conference win of the season, and retained its spot atop the SBC East Division standings entering Sunday's match. It marked USA's second straight win over Little Rock dating back to last season, and the first at Jag Gym since 2010.

South Alabama will return to action Sun., Oct. 22, when it hosts Arkansas State at 12:30 p.m. at Jag Gym.

GAME FACTS
- USA used a 4-0 scoring run midway through the opening set, highlighted by a service ace from Arissa Chappell and kill from Kristina Alabastro, to take a 16-13 lead. But the Trojans answered with a 3-0 scoring run later in the set for an 18-17 advantage.
- The Jags went on another 4-0 scoring run, highlighted by a pair of Trojan attack errors, a kill by Parker Harrell and block assist by Hannah Harris and Morgan Stalcup, to take a 22-20 lead in set one.
- USA earned set point at 24-21 in the opening set on a Trojan attack error, and clinched the set on second straight Little Rock error for a 25-21 win after closing the set on another 3-0 scoring run.
- The Jags posted just a .079 hitting percentage in the opening set, but the Trojans hit just .057 in set one.
- Kelley Hartman led the Jags with three kills in opening set, while Stalcup led the team with three total blocks.
- The opening-set win marked South Alabama's 10th consecutive set win dating back to the Troy match on Oct. 7 in Troy, Ala.
- USA used a 5-0 scoring run early in the second set, highlighted by a service ace from Ashlyn Roberts and a kill from Hannah Harris, to take an 11-7 lead.
- The Trojans went on a 5-0 scoring run late in set two to earn set point at 24-19, and clinched the set on a kill from Veronica Marin for a 25-19 win to even the match at 1-1. It marked the Jags' first set loss since they dropped the opening set in an Oct. 7 win at Troy.
- USA went on a 6-0 scoring run late in the third set, highlighted by a kill from Hartman and service ace by Chappell, for a 21-13 lead.
- The Jags earned set point at 24-14 in set three on a Trojan attack error, and clinched the set at 25-14 on a second consecutive Little Rock error to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
- Little Rock opened set four on a 4-0 scoring run, aided by three Jaguar attack errors, for a four-point advantage. But USA answered with a 4-0 scoring run, highlighted by a pair of kills from Harris and one kill by Hartman, to tie the set at 4-4.
- South Alabama took an 21-12 lead in set four, aided by a 7-0 scoring run that featured a pair of kills by Harris.
- The Jags earned match point in the fourth set at 24-15 on a kill by Meaghan Jones, and clinched the match on a kill by Alabastro on an assist from Kellyn Reeves.

NOTES
- Harris tied a career high with nine kills, while also posting a .318 hitting percentage and three block assists.
- Harrell recorded her second double-double of the season with a team-leading 17 assists along with 13 digs.
- Chappell tied a season high with four service aces, and also recorded 13 digs.
- Baker led the Jaguars with 19 digs, and also recorded five assists.
- The Jaguars finished with 13 total team blocks, which marked the 13th match this season they have recorded 10 or more blocks.
- South Alabama dropped the third set to Little Rock, which marked just the fourth set the Jaguars have lost in conference matches this season.
- USA tied the program record for SBC wins (9) in a season, which was set in head coach Amy Hendrichovsky's second season in 2013 when the Jags won nine league matches.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the win:
"I thought Little Rock played well and had a good game plan, and forced our girls to really work through some stuff. I thought Kellyn (Reeves) came off the bench and made a difference offensively for our team. One benefit for us is that we have people on the bench who can easily play on any given night, and I thought she came in and made a difference for us in the third and fourth sets."

- On the defense:
"Little Rock covered well in the first couple of sets, but then as the match wore on the balls started to fall. Our team is a strong defensive team. I thought they (Little Rock) handled it well early, but as we kept doing it they kind of let go a little bit. I was happy that our defense stayed driven and focused. Usually if you give us some time to work through it we'll figure it out."

- On tying the program record for conference wins:
"When I came here the inspiration was to kind of build this program, and every year our team has bought in to that part of it. This team is playing free and they're having fun. They are a very determined group, and we're just trying to stay focused and build ourselves for the end of the season. It's not how we're doing now, it's how we're doing at the end of the season; we have bigger goals. It's awesome for our team and the program, and I am happy for it. It was great to have the stands full of fans tonight, and I hope we have them on Sunday because we really need them."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Sun., Oct. 22, when it hosts Arkansas State at 12:30 p.m. at Jag Gym.

Bobcats post eighth-straight win
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team collected a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19) victory over Georgia Southern Friday night inside Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats (16-7, 7-1 SBC) picked up their eighth-consecutive triumph overall and have now shutout each of their last seven Sun Belt Conference opponents. The last time the maroon and gold swept at least seven-consecutive league foes came back in 2000, when the school record of nine was set.

Leading the way for TXST was junior Madison Daigle, who had a match-high 10 kills with no errors on 20 swings for a .500 attack percentage. Sophomore Amy Pflughaupt tallied nine kills and eight digs, while classmate Micah Dinwiddie added 22 digs for the second match in a row. Senior Erin Hoppe (24) and true freshman Brooke Johnson (13) distributed 37 assists.

Texas State secured the opening set by a 25-19 margin. The Bobcats went ahead 6-5 and never trailed again, but the visitors fought to the very end. The lead swelled to as much as six at 17-11, but GS climbed back to within two at 17-15. TXST used a well-placed timeout to squash the comeback as the maroon and gold closed on a 10-4 run.

The second set was nip-and-tuck throughout, but it was TXST who found the final surge to claim the period 25-20. Georgia Southern took its largest lead of the match at 14-11, but Texas State quickly used a 3-0 run to pull level. The maroon and gold battled into a 19-15 advantage and was able to hang on for the narrow five-point triumph.

The final period was all Bobcats, as the home side went on top 14-7 before cruising to the finish line at 25-19.

TXST improved to 5-0 all-time against the Eagles.

Lauren Reichard, Cathrine Murray and Carly Turner led GS with six kills each. Murray added 10 digs in the losing effort. Landon Jones (12) and April Luther (10) combined for 22 assists, and Joscelin Morrow contributed 10 digs of her own.

TXST led in kills (44-27), attack percentage (.236-.115), assists (42-26), aces (8-3), and digs (56-40). The eight aces tied the season high for Texas State. Both teams finished with seven blocks.

The Bobcats will remain home for a 6:30 p.m. match Oct. 21 against Georgia State. The Panthers dropped a 3-1 decision Friday night to UTA in Arlington, Texas.

TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Opening Statement…
"I was disappointed with how we played offensively, especially in the first two games. Brooke Johnson and Marissa Kindred made a big difference tonight off the bench. We had a lot more hitting errors than we've been having lately, but I'm going to take the win. Georgia Southern played much better tonight than what we had seen on film. They really raised their level of play against us. We needed a win like this one to keep the momentum going into tomorrow's match against Georgia State.

On being able to fight off Georgia Southern rallies…
"I'm proud of the team for stepping up tonight, particularly in that third set. Erin Hoppe struggled a little bit distributing the ball, but she did a great job offensively. Marissa Kindred really gave us a lift off the bench. I told the team after the match that this is exactly why you have 16 people. When one of the six on the court isn't playing at their best, then we have quality people on our bench who can step in and do the job. We're going to need everybody to go out there and contribute when called upon if we have any chance of winning any sort of championship this season."

Canete's 62nd Career Double-Double Highlights UTA Win
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Qiana Canete registered her 62nd career double-double and Kylie Jedlicka added a match-high 13 kills, leading UTA volleyball to a four-set win (25-23, 21-25, 25-17, 25-14) over Georgia State, on Friday night in a contest presented by Liv+ Apartments at College Park Center.

UTA (9-12, 3-5 Sun Belt Conference) returned from a nearly month long road swing to post the four-set win over Georgia Southern (7-14, 3-6 Sun Belt Conference) on Friday. UTA opened strong before the Panthers won the second to put pressure on the Mavs. UTA finished off the four-set victory with dominating performances in the third and fourth.

LEADING THE MAVS
Canete, a native of Copperas Cove, Texas, recorded her 13th double-double of the year and the 62nd in her decorated career. The two-time all-conference selection had 12 kills and 19 digs and now sits second in UTA career history in kills (1,361) and fourth in digs (1,508). She sits just 55 kills shy of equaling the program mark.

Jedlicka added a match-best 13 kills, also charting nine digs. Zhanelle Geathers finished with 10 kills and four blocks, with sophomore Madison McConnell owning seven kills in 10 swings, while adding four blocks. Freshman Tessa Harfield was a kill shy of her career high with six, also sporting a team-high five blocks. Setters Haley Higgins and Madison Helt combined to dish out 39 assists, with Higgins owning a team-high 21. Helt also notched her first two kills of the year, adding six digs. Libero Libbie Vickers finished with 23 digs, with Allie Deese adding a key block and a dig.

NEXT
The Mavs will return to action on Saturday in a game presented by eSix Sportswear. UTA will host Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. CT at College Park Center, with the game broadcast live on UTAMavs.com with the Voice of The Mavs, Josh Sours, calling the action.

SET ONE
Harfield got the Mavs on the board to open the set with her first kill and after Georgia State answered with a pair of points, Harfield's second kill evened it up at 2-2. Georgia State rallied with a 4-0 run to build the lead and UTA fought back to cut it to three with a pair of kills from Geathers. Madison Helt's fully extended, one-handed dig led to a UTA point to cut it to 8-5 but GSU stretched its lead to 10-5. A kill from Canete cut the lead to a 12-7 hole but the Mavs used a 3-0 run and a 4-0 run to score seven of eight points during a stretch to even up the game at 14-14, with Geathers tying it after a monster block. The clubs traded points until UTA went on a 3-0 run to take an 18-17 lead, getting a block from Allie Deese. After Georgia State took a 20-19 lead, the Mavs went on a 4-0 stretch, including a point with back-to-back blocks from Geathers and Harfield. After GSU rallied to cut it to 24-23, UTA Coach J.T. Wenger called for his first timeout, with the Mavs finishing off the win with the next point, 25-23.

SET TWO
Georgia State opened the scoring and used a 3-0 run to take a 4-1 lead. Harfield's soft kill cut the lead to 6-3 and Jedlicka's kill finished a 2-0 run to cut the lead to 6-5. A 2-0 run evened it at 7-7 and the teams traded runs, with the match tied at 11-11 before a 3-0 Georgia State run. The Panthers extended their lead with a 2-0 run to take it to 16-13 but UTA used a 3-0 stretch, finished by a McConnell kill, to tied it at 16-16. The Panthers answered with a 3-0 run and were able to hold off the Mavs for a 25-21 win.

SET THREE
The teams traded points until GSU went on a 2-0 run for a 7-5 lead. UTA answered with a 3-0 run, using a stretch of 10 of the next 13 points to take a 15-10 lead. UTA was the first to 20 after a nifty short kill from Higgins, forcing a timeout. The Mavs came out of the break to trade points with the Panthers, with GSU cutting the lead to 21-17 before UTA ripped off a 4-0 run to finish off the win.

SET FOUR
Canete got the Mavs on the board to open the set, with UTA building a 7-1 lead behind kills from Geathers, Jedlicka and Harfield. UTA extended its lead to 15-5 to force the final GSU timeout with McConnell, Jedlicka and Helt each notching kills, with Helt's the first of the year. The Mavs continued to build their lead, taking it to 22-14 before a 3-0 run for UTA finished off the win, 25-14.

May, Jones Lead @AStateVB to Sweep at Troy
TROY, Ala. (10/20/17) – Carlisa May tied a season high with 24 kills and Drew Jones added 15 as the Arkansas State volleyball team swept Troy 3-0 (30-28, 25-22, 25-14) Friday night at Trojan Arena.

A-State (14-9, 7-3 SBC) out hit the Trojans (8-16, 2-7 SBC) .302 to .157 and recorded six service aces while Troy had none. May’s 24 kills came on a .364 hitting percentage, while Jones posted a season-high .483 hitting percentage as she tallied 15 kills. A native of Fort Smith, Ark., Jones registered the 1,000th kill of her career on her 11th of the match during set two.

Ellie Watkins handed out 42 assists to pace the offense, while Timber Terrell led the team with four blocks defensively. Tatum Ticknor and Kenzie Fields led A-State with eight digs apiece while Ticknor provided a team-high two service aces.

“We jumped out in front early in set one, but then just got out of rhythm,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “They ended up controlling most of the set, but we showed a lot of resolve to get back into it and not quit so I’m proud of the team for that. Once we got that set, we played a little better in set two and then really played our type of volleyball in set three. Road wins are always tough to come by so I’m pleased to get the victory after being at home for a long stretch.”

The Red Wolves jumped out to a quick 3-0 edge in set one on an ace by Fields, but Troy fought back to take an 8-7 lead and extended their advantage to 20-14 later in the frame. A-State used a 6-1 run, finished by a kill from Jones, to come back within 21-20, but lost the next two points to go down 23-20. However, A-State tied it up 24-24 and fought off five set points, the last at 28-27, before they used a 3-0, capped by a kill from May, to complete the comeback and win the set 30-28.

Arkansas State raced out to a 10-7 edge in set two to force a Troy timeout and kept the pressure on the Trojans by moving in front 19-14 on a kill by Jones, which was the 1,000th of her career, to cause another stoppage by the home team. Troy was able to battle back within two points on several occasions, the last coming at 24-22, but a kill by Jessica Uke clinched a 25-22 game two win.

The third set began strongly for A-State with the visitors obtaining a 4-1 edge after a service ace by Terrell. The Red Wolves built their advantage to 14-6 after two straight kills by May and saw the home squad use a timeout. Arkansas State pushed in front by 11 at 23-12 after an attack error and was able to win the set by that margin at 25-14 after another error by the Trojans.

Jenni Young led Troy with 10 kills and three blocks, while Logan Page had six kills on a .312 attacking percentage.

Arkansas State returns to action Sunday, Oct. 22 at South Alabama. First serve from Jag Gym in Mobile, Ala., is set for 12:30 p.m. and the match will be streamed for free at www.JagNationTV.com.

Ragin' Cajuns Ride Defensive Wave to Sweep of App State
LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team was driven by a dominant defensive performance in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) win over Appalachian State on Friday at Earl K. Long Gym.

The Ragin' Cajuns (15-8, 8-1 Sun Belt) out-blocked the Mountaineers (7-16, 2-7 Sun Belt) by a 12-2 margin and forced the visitors into 27 total attack errors in the match.

Louisiana spread its offense around with six different players accounting for at least four kills. The squad had a 60-plus percent sideout rate in each set, finishing the match at 64 percent.

The Ragin' Cajuns set the tone with four blocks in the opening set win. Two key blocks after a 19-all tie in the second set – the first preventing the Mountaineers from taking the lead and the latter stretching the advantage to 23-20 – sent Louisiana to a 2-0 match lead. The finishing touch on the frontline dominance was a match-best five blocks in the final frame.

With the win, the Ragin' Cajuns maintained their lead in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division and extended their home court win streak to eight matches.

LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Hanna Rovira had a team-high seven kills off 14 swings. Dree'Ana Abram supplied six off 14 swings as well, Hali Wisnoskie landed five kills and the trio of Nia Antoine, Jessica Bartczyszyn and Stacey Reilly each tallied four kills.

Bartczyszyn turned in an all-around effort as she generated four kills, five digs and six blocks (2 BS, 4 BA) in addition to her 20 assists from her setting duties.

Louisiana's middle blocking tandem of Abram (three) and Antoine (five) combined for eight blocks in helping the team out-block the opposition for the ninth straight match and move over 200 total in a season for the first time since 2014.

Freshman Avery Breaux recorded a team-best 11 digs, marking the 10th double digit performance of her rookie season. Libero Sydney Davis joined her in double digits with 10 and Reilly provided an additional nine.

UP NEXT
The Ragin' Cajuns continue their current four-match homestand, which marks the final stretch of matches at E.K. Long Gym this season, on Saturday facing defending Sun Belt Champion Coastal Carolina (11-7, 8-1 Sun Belt) in a 6:30 p.m. match.

Saturday's meeting with the Chanticleers is Girl Scout Night with all troops in the area invited to attend. There will be a poster competition for the chance to win an autographed volleyball and Ragin' Cajuns volleyballs will be tossed into the stands throughout the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Louisiana won the match's first two rallies and never trailed in opening the early lead. Fittingly it was the Ragin' Cajuns block which snapped the final tie of the opening set, as Bartczysyn and Antoine teamed up for a stuff that ignited a 5-0 run for a 13-8 lead.

An ace drew App State within a point, 14-13, but Abram responded with a kill, an attack error kept the Cajuns run going and another kill from Abram coupled with a Wisnoskie block solo stretched the lead to 18-13.

- A 4-0 run moved the Mountaineers ahead 8-5 in the second set. After a timeout, the Ragin' Cajuns responded with a five-point spurt to jump ahead 10-8. App State claimed the next two rallies for a 10-all tie, then Louisiana landed kills on three of the next five rallies and led 14-11.

The visitors rebounded to pull into a 19-all tie and the Ragin' Cajuns defense stepped up with a tag team block from Antoine and Reilly to remain ahead. A kill by Jenna Talbert evened the score for App State, however an attack error started the downfall. After a timeout, Talbert committed back-to-back attack errors and a Davis ace increased the Louisiana lead to 24-20.

- Paced by five quick kills at the onset of the third set, the Mountaineers jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns stormed back and pulled even at 10-all following back-to-back blocks of which Bartczyszyn had a hand in.

App State rattled off three straight points to temporarily stretch the lead back out at 13-10. Louisiana turned to its offense first, getting kills from Antoine and Abram off overpasses and followed up by forcing the Mountaineers into two attack errors which provided a 14-13 lead. After the teams traded service errors, began to pull away starting with a block from Abram and Wisnoskie.

QUICK HITS
- Head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot picked up her 134th win as Ragin' Cajuns head coach. She's now two (2) wins shy of tying Wilo Colon's program-record 136 victories.

- Hanna Rovira's .500 hitting percentage (7 K, 0 E, 14 TA) marked the third time in the past five Sun Belt matches she's hit above .400.

- Hanna Rovira's seven kills upped her season total to 98 which matches her career-best total set last season. She's now two kills shy of the first 100-kill campaign of her collegiate career.

- Nia Antoine moved closer to the 500-kill mark of her career. The Lafayette native and Acadiana High will carry 496 career kills into Saturday's match vs. Coastal Carolina.

- Jessica Bartczyszyn's six blocks were a season-high total for the senior setter. She's now at 39 blocks for the season, leaving her one shy of equaling her career-best output (40 in 2016).

- Stacey Reilly moved her career kills total to 969 as she continues her quest to become only the second Ragin' Cajuns player in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to reach 1,000 career kills.

- Louisiana's .212 team hitting percentage marked the seventh time in nine Sun Belt Conference matches the team hit above .200.

- Louisiana's defense held Appalachian State to a .106 hitting percentage, the lowest total for the opposition since ULM hit .104 back on Oct. 6. The Ragin' Cajuns have limited foes to a sub-.200 percentage in seven of nine SBC outings.

- Louisiana improved to 9-2 at Earl K. Long Gym with Friday night's triumph. The squad has already locked up a winning mark on its home court, while they moved within one win of reaching double digits in facility for the first time since 2014 (11-4). The Ragin' Cajuns record at E.K. Long Gym under the guidance of Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot improved to 67-53 (.558).