NEW ORLEANS, La. | The Alabama State University volleyball team claimed their third consecutive victory, opening the Tulane Invitational with a 3-1 (25-13,25-22,16-25,25-17) victory over the University of North Florida Friday.
 
"We stuck straight to the game plan," Alabama State head coach Penny Lucas-White said. "Although we made some mistakes in the third set, they fought consistently to stay in the match and overcome the mistakes.
 
"We did goal-setting at the beginning of the year and we are starting to meet those goals one-by-one. We are walking into matches starting to set personal goals and that shows the maturity of the team, and that is when you know your team is taking it to another level."
 
Sophomore Krysta Medearis led Alabama State (5-6) with 13 kills, the third time she has been in double figure kills this season. Senior Briana Dorsey continued her climb up the career chart as she reached 628 career kills with her 11-kill performance against the Ospreys, while also added six blocks. He career block total has now reached 282, leaving the senior just 14 blocks short of fourth all-time at the school.
 
Ni'yesha Brown, the reigning SWAC Offensive Player of the Week, finished with 11 kills – the seventh time she has accomplished that feat this season, and giving her 400-plus kills for her career.
 
Bayle' Bennett finished with seven kills and 14 digs, while Payten Clark finished with seven kills and five blocks on the day. Sophomore Asha Daniels, the reigning SWAC Defensive Player of the Week, led the team with 19 digs, while Kori Kutsch recorded 28 assists, which puts her over 1,400 for her career.
 
As a team, the Lady Hornets finished the night hitting .320 and held North Florida to a .146 attack percentage; while recording 11 total team blocks.
 
The match was a match of runs, with each North Florida run matched by the Lady Hornets. In the first set, Alabama State jumped to a big lead before North Florida tried to close the gap and cut it to nine, before the Lady Hornets closed out the set with three consecutive points. In the second set, North Florida raced out to an early lead and led by as many five (20-15), before Alabama State stormed back to win 10 of the final 12 points to claim the second set.
 
After North Florida was able to win the third set, Alabama State fought back in the fourth set after the Ospreys tied the set at 14-all. The Lady Hornets went on a 11-3 run to close out the final set for the victory.
 
Alabama State return to action Saturday with a pair of matches against Tulane and Northwestern State to close out the Tulane Invitational.
 
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