Itta Bena, Miss. –  Four Lady Hornets racked up double-digit kills to help No. 5 Alabama State take down No. 1 Alabama A&M, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-11) in the semifinal of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament on Saturday evening.
 
The Lady Hornets (16-21) dropped 24 more kills than the Bulldogs (20-14) allowing them to earn the victory and head to their fourth consecutive SWAC Championship match on Sunday.
 
Junior E'laisah Young (.444), tied her career high, and senior Bayle' Bennett (.244) led the way with a match-high 16 kills. Senior Krysta Medearis followed behind with 15 kills on a .267 hitting percentage with a match-high tying three blocks.
 
Junior McKenzie Boland set the offense to a .275 clip with a career- and match-high 57 assists alongside three service aces and four digs. Junior Alex Wiggins was on a tear with a career- and match-high seven service aces. Freshman Emersen Belles paced the defense with 12 digs.
 
Set One (Alabama State 23, Alabama A&M 25)
Alabama State started the match off on fire, gaining a 9-4 early lead forcing Alabama A&M to call a timeout. Trailing 20-15, the Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run to knot things up which gave them enough momentum to hold off the Lady Hornets and grab the first set. Alabama A&M hit a blistering .379 with 14 kills.
 
Set Two (Alabama State 25, Alabama A&M 21)
Despite dropping the first set, Alabama State kept its fight to even the score at 1-all as the Lady Hornets never trailed in the set. Alabama State recorded 15 kills with a .273 hitting percentage while holding A&M to only 10 kills in the set.
 
Set Three (Alabama State 25, Alabama A&M 21)
Both teams came out of the break and fought hard as there were seven ties and three lead changes in the third. Alabama A&M seemed to control the momentum early on as the Bulldogs went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 10-6 lead. The Lady Hornets would not let up as the team battled back to tie the score at 15-all. With all the momentum, Alabama State used a 7-2 run to take a 22-17 lead that it would not relinquish.
 
Set Four (Alabama State 25, Alabama A&M 15)
Alabama State controlled all the momentum as the Lady Hornets led wire-to-wire to punch their way into the championship game. Alabama State recorded 21 kills on a thunderous .444 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Lady Hornets went a perfect 16-16 on sideout opportunities and only allowed six Bulldog kills.
 
Up Next
Alabama State will face the winner of the No.2 Prairie View A&M/No. 3 Jackson State match in the SWAC championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN3.
 
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