Box Score                                           
 
MONTGOMERY—Alabama State had been aiming for the start of the Southwestern Athletic Conference season and they opened it with a bang as they defeated Alcorn State 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-20).
 
Myla Marshall led the way with a career-high 12 kills and also hit a career and season-high .688 in the game.  It was the best offensive showing of the season as ASU hit .306 and added 42 kills in the win.
 
Brooke Beasley had 34 assists and Luiza Griz added nine digs.  Rachel Smith also chipped in with 10 kills and Chelsey Scott had nine.
 
ASU started the day off with 15 kills in the first set on their way to a 25-14 win.  ASU's .345 hitting percentage was the best single game hitting percentage of the season.  Scott led the way with five kills in the set.
 
ASU's defense was also strong as they had seven total blocks with Marshall contributing with a game-high four.  ASU also held Alcorn to only -.135 hitting for the game.
 
The two teams went back and forth and finally with the score even at eight; ASU went on a 4-0 run to push the lead out to 12-8 and went on for the 11-point win.
 
Set two saw Marshall lead the way for the Lady Hornets 25-17 win.  She had five kills in the win in six attacks for a set-high .833 hitting percentage.
 
The set was not all that easy as ASU led 6-2, 14-9 and 20-14 only to see Alcorn come battling back each time.  Finally, with the score 20-17, ASU reclaimed the serve and finished out the set scoring the final five points.  ASU did manage to hit .286 in the set and had four total blocks.
 
ASU was able to put the game away with a 25-20 win in set three as the Lady Hornets jumped out 6-2 to start the game.  They never led by any more than five points at 10-5, 17-12 and the final 25-20.
 
Smith had four kills and Marshall and Scott had three each in the win.  ASU hit .286 in the game and held Alcorn to -.167.
 
“I have been preaching to the team that we have been using the pre-conference schedule to get us ready for conference action and we came out and were ready to play a conference game,” Head Coach Penny Lucas-White said.  “While I am happy we were able to win, there were still too many points given to Alcorn.  We committed 14 service errors and we have to get better at that if we are going to move on.”
 
“We have a few days to get ready for an Alabama A&M team that has consistently been one of the top programs in the conference and we have to play them on the road, so we have to improve before we got to their place.”
 
ASU moves to 1-16 on the season and 1-0 in conference action and Alcorn falls to 1-12 and 0-3.  ASU will be back on the road for their first conference road game of the season at Alabama A&M University on Thursday, Sept. 27.  The game is set for 7 p.m.