KENNESAW, GA  – It wasn't the start to the season that Alabama State volleyball head coach Penny Lucas-White had envisioned, but it ended on a high note after the Lady Hornets began to cut down on their errors as the tournament wore on and ASU picked up a salvaging 3-0 win against Savannah State (25-18, 25-17, 25-16) on Saturday evening.

ASU went 1-2 to kick off their 2015 campaign in the Kennesaw State Invitational.

Earlier in the day, there were signs of improvement shown from the team in its match against  Jacksonville State, but the Lady Hornets still lacked continuity as it lost 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-10) Saturday morning to the Gamecocks.

"It was a great tournament," Lucas-White said.

"It was a breakout for Kimeko Bennett.  She had 21 kills.  Myla Marshall did a nice job blocking for us as well as on the net.  My two freshman setters did a phenomenal job.  I think we just had to let them know that we're going to run hard after every ball for them.  I think it was a nice start for them as they got their rhythm down."

In the Savannah State match, K. Bennett was dominant at times, earning 11 kills on 21 attacks. 

She was named to the All-Tournament team for her three-match performance, in which she tallied 21 kills. 

In the middle, Myla Marshall asserted herself as a net protector with seven kills on nine attacks and a team-high four blocks.

Backing them was the sound defensive play of Lorena Rosario and Kayla Torres, who had a combined 17 digs. 

ASU also was much better in limiting their errors and hit .303 as a team including .458 in the final set. 

In the Jacksonville State match, a highlight occurred in the second set where ASU was able to put together a 12-8 run that got them within a point of tying the score.

Fueled by the serving and spikes of sophomores Briana Dorsey and Brittany Brown, the duo helped lead ASU from an 8-3 deficit to a one-point deficit at 16-15.   

A series of attack errors and a kill by the Gamecocks' Kim Krutsinger put Jacksonville State's lead back up to five.

The Lady Hornets had one last spurt of three straight points on two kills by Brown and another by K. Bennett to pull within 21-19. 

Fellow freshman Riley MacDonald was credited with all three assists during the run. 

But, two attacking errors by ASU, a kill by JSU's Charis Luedtke and a service ace by Hannah Kirk closed out the second set.

Errors were costly for ASU as the team committed 24 and hit just above the positive mark for a 0.57 hitting percentage. 

Dorsey contributed with a team-high seven kills on an efficient .364 hitting percentage.

Brown had six kills, six digs, and an ace.

MacDonald collected a team-high 14 assists and Kutsch added 12. 

Next, the Lady Hornets will travel to Troy, Ala. to compete in the Trojan Invitational from Friday, Sept. 4 through Saturday, Sept. 5 against East Tennessee State, host Troy and Cal-State Bakersfield. 

                                                                                                        #GOHORNETS#