Montgomery, Ala. – The fifth-seeded Alabama State volleyball team begins its quest for its fourth consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship on Friday against fourth-seeded Southern at 1:30 p.m. at Mississippi Valley State.
 
The Lady Hornets (14-21, 11-7 SWAC) ended the regular season with a tough five set loss (19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 14-16) to in-state conference foe Alabama A&M on Nov. 15 inside of Lockhart Gymnasium. Alabama State recorded more kills but the Bulldogs' defense was too much to handle.
 
In the contest, senior Bayle' Bennett recorded her 15th double double of the season with a game- and career-high 21 kills on .212 hitting percentage with 10 digs. Additionally, on senior night she secured two service aces and two blocks.
 
Junior E'laisah Young followed behind with 14 kills on a blistering .448 clip while locking up on defense with a match-high six blocks. Junior McKenzie Boland posted a career-high 52 kills (one away from the match high) with two digs, a kill, a block and a service ace. Freshman Emersen Belles led the defense with a match-high 22 digs.
 
On the season, Bennett leads the way with 379 total kills averaging 2.98 per set alongside the second-most digs (330, 2.60/set) and service aces (35) on the team. Medearis follows behind with 322 kills on a .255 hitting percentage with the third-most blocks on the team at 60 including 14 solos.
 
Young poses as an all-around threat as she has 257 kills with a blistering .350 hitting percentage, 23 service aces, 82 digs and a team-high 82 blocks including 26 solos.
 
Defensively, Belles leads the team with 452 digs (3.77/set) while also leading the team in service aces with 37. Boland paces the offense with 724 assists averaging 5.89/set.
 
Last Time Against Southern
Southern swept the season series between the two with both games going five sets. In the last battle, Alabama State nearly pulled off the reverse sweep but ultimately fell, 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-9) in the SWAC East Roundup on Oct. 26.
 
Junior E'laisah Young once again paced the offense with a career- and match-high 16 kills on a career- and match-high .619 hitting percentage alongside two digs and a service ace. Senior Krysta Medearis followed behind with 15 kills on a .229 hitting percentage with seven digs.
 
Senior Bayle' Bennett posted her 14th double double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs while junior McKenzie Boland recorded her second double double in as many games with 44 assists and a team-high 13 digs.
 
SWAC Tournament
With a win against No. 4 Southern, Alabama State will face the winner of the No. 1 Alabama A&M/No. 8 Grambling State match on Saturday at 2 p.m. for a chance to play in the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
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