Alabama State got double digit kills from
Amber Bennett (15),
Tiara Kelley (13) and
Rachel Smith (11) to lead the Lady Hornets to a 3-1 (25-13, 28-30, 25-10, 25-16) win over Jackson State. The win was ASU's eighth consecutive win.
"That was the one (big win) and that is just the start of many," Head Coach
Penny Lucas-White said. "We are on a mission and we are not going to take any prisoners."
ASU hit .248 for the game and held Jackson State's offense to only a .025 hitting percentage for the game. The Lady Hornets had 19 total blocks (1 BS, 18 BA) with
Myla Marshall leading the way with six blocks. LaToya Ellington had five blocks.
Luiza Griz continues to add to her dig total and finished with a game-high 16. The one-two punch of
Ellyn Jones (23) and
Brooke Beasley (20) combined for 43 assists. Marshall had a game and career-high three service aces as ASU finished with nine.
The two teams swapped the first six points of the first game before ASU went on a 13-5 run to push the lead out to 16-8. From there the Lady Hornets, who hit .387 in the set, pushed the lead out to as many as 13 points before winning 25-13
Bennett led the way with seven kills while Smith had five and Kelley added four as ASU finished the set with 17 kills in 31 total attacks.
JSU (3-16/1-2 SWAC) evened the sets at one with a 30-28 win in set two. After JSU scored the first point of the match ASU was able to go out and lead by as much as five at 13-7. JSU slowly started to come back and finally evened the score at 19 and took the lead at 20-19. From there the set went back and forth with seven ties before JSU would score the winning points on consecutive ASU hitting errors.
Neither team hit the ball for any average in the set as ASU finished at .000 and JSU hit .091. Bennett added five kills and Marshall four in the set.
"Jackson State gave us a good, tough second set and fought very, very hard," Lucas-White said.
The Lady Hornets did not stay down after dropping the second set. They came out and scored the first four points of the third set and never looked back on their way to a 25-10 win.
ASU turned around their hitting problems and finished the set hitting .381 while holding JSU to a -.103 hitting percentage. The Lady Hornets offense was well balanced as six ASU players recorded kills led by Smith's three. Kelley and
Chelsey Scott added two each. ASU only committed two errors in the set.
"They came right out after the loss and just kept going," Lucas-White said. "I think once we adjusted our block and they understood what we needed to take away we were right back in it again."
ASU saved the best offensive game for last, hitting .417 in the third set on their way to a 25-16 win. Kelley and Smith had three kills each in the deciding set while Bennett and Scott added two. The Lady Hornets had 12 kills in 24 total attacks with only two errors.
Lucas-White added, "They are growing and they are enjoying growing every practice, every match. And I just think for the girls right now it's great that they have each other's back. I have said it from the beginning this is the team that never gives up. They are never going to walk away and they are never going to lie down. That's the good thing is my kids are never going to lie down."
ASU (13-12/3-0 SWAC) has a week off before heading up the interstate to their next big match, Alabama A&M. That game is set for Friday Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
