Box Score
This one seemed to have a bit of everything—nail biting close sets, hammer kills, pinpoint setting, a flurry of ties, and a bunch of individual career and season highs mixed in. 
The Alabama State women's volleyball team was on the verge of taking this match against Jacksonville State on Tuesday night at Lockhart Gymnasium, but the Gamecocks wiggled its' way out of trouble and into a 3-2 sets victory (25-23, 25-18, 14-25, 20-25, 15-8). 

The first set was perhaps ASU's best chance to swing the match in their favor.  And, this was all before four ASU players notched new personal-best records.  Senior setter Ellyn Jones set career highs in assists (42) and digs (17), junior Tiara Kelley bested her high in blocks with seven and junior Chelsey Scott put down a single-game high of 18 kills. 

The Gamecocks (5-6) saved their best volleyball for the deciding set though by hitting a match-best .304 as a team.  Jacksonville State marched out to an 8-2 advantage led by a bevy of kills by their top three seasonal producers of Emily Rutherford, Nicole Merget and Allyson Zuhlke.  A couple of attack errors and a Jamie Coleman ace got ASU within three points of the lead, but that's as close as it would come down the stretch as Brianne Glidewell closed it out with a kill. 

In the first, senior setter Ellyn Jones got the Lady Hornets (4-10) off to a quick start with two aces.  The teams traded points for the better part of the set.  Kelley and Scott put down a kill apiece for ASU. 

Myla Marshall got into the act with an emphatic block to give ASU a 10-9 advantage.  Scott rose for a thunder spike from near the middle part of the court to knot the 14^th tie through 16-16.  Rachel Smith bashed a kill and then picked up a service point to give ASU a 19-17 lead forcing a Jacksonville State timeout.

Jones to Marshall helped ASU reclaim a 20-19 lead.  The Gamecocks' Nicole Merget tipped a point to tie it at 20-20 for the 17^th tie.
 
Scott put down another spike on an angled cross shot toward the middle of the floor to give ASU a 23-21 lead. 

A kill by Jacksonville State's Emily Rutherford and an attack error locked up the teams at 23-23 for the 19^th tie of the set.  The Gamecocks' Samantha Bohn followed by picking up an ace and an attack error by Amber Bennett gave Jacksonville State a 25-23 set win.  Scott had four kills on 13 total attacks in the set. 

The second set looked very much like the first just past the midway point of the set as there were nine ties through the score being locked up at 15-15.

Jacksonville State pushed forward with a key 8-0 spurt on a Merget kill, an attack error by Smith, a trio of bad sets by Brooke Beasley, and a kill each by Charis Ludtke and Rutherford and an ace by Bohne. The Gamecocks won the set 25-18.

The flow of the game changed quite differently in the third set.  The beginning began with a flourish for ASU as the team came out with six consecutive points to open the set.  In stark contrast to the opening two sets, there would be no ties or lead changes in this one. 

The lead expanded to 9-1 on a Kelley kill.  Scott collaborated with Jones for an assist-kill combo and then Marshall and Kelley both went up for assisted blocks. 
A Smith kill assisted from Jamie Coleman made it 15-7 ASU.  Freshman Briana Dorsey laid the hammer down for an attack that was too hard to handle on the other side for a 17-8 lead. 

Dorsey rose for a stuff to close out the third 25-14.  Scott had five kills while Jones contributed 11 assists and eight digs in the set.  As the team, the Lady Hornets upped their hitting percentage from .148 in the second set to an efficient .324 in the third. 

In the fourth set, Jones set up Marshall for a boom to make it 5-5 in the early goings of the set. 

A Dorsey smash allowed ASU to take a 17-15 lead.  Smith, Scott and Kelley all came up with big kills to help expand the lead to 22-17.  Another Dorsey kill and an attack error by Rutherford propelled the Lady Hornets to take it 25-20.

#gohornets#