Montgomery, Ala. – Alabama State volleyball will play in its final non-conference tournament on Friday and Saturday when it travels to the University of Arizona to compete in the Wildcat Classic.
 
The Lady Hornets will play Arizona (12 p.m. CT) and Sacramento State (7:30 p.m. CT) on Friday and will face New Mexico State on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. All games will have live stats and the match against Arizona will be live streamed on the Pac 12 Network while the remaining Alabama State games will be streamed on Flo Volleyball.
 
In its last contest the Lady Hornets (3-8) dropped a 3-1 (25-20, 13-25, 21-25, 14-25) decision to in-state foe South Alabama in Lockhart Gymnasium on Tuesday night. In the match, senior Bayle' Bennett finished the match with her fifth consecutive double double in a game-high 14 kills and a game-high tying 14 digs alongside two service aces.
 
Defensively, freshman Emersen Belles tied Bennett for a game-high 14 digs while sophomore Taryn King posted a career-high tying six total blocks followed by senior Krysta Medearis with five blocks.
 
On the season, Bennett leads the team with 129 kills, averaging 3.23 per set alongside 11 service aces. Defensively, Bennett has 115 digs, second-highest on the team and 17 blocks.
 
Junior E'laisah Young is an all-around threat with 50 kills, five service aces and 21 blocks, six solos. Freshmen Madison Beasley and Emersen Belles lead the team in assists and digs, respectively, with 230 assists (5.90/set) and 119 digs (2.98/set).
 
Three Lady Hornets Grab SWAC Weekly Honor
Senior Bayle' Bennett was named SWAC Defensive Player of the Week, senior Krysta Medearis earned Offensive Player of the Week and junior McKenzie Boland was tabbed SWAC Newcomer of the Week for their efforts at the Saluki Invitational as announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Bennett recorded a team-high 48 digs with four blocks. Bennett averaged 3.69 digs per set this weekend including a team-high 14 digs against IUPUI and a game-high and a career-high tying 19 digs against Southern Illinois.
 
Medearis finished the weekend with a team-high 39 kills with a .261 hitting percentage. Her 39 kills allowed her to average 3.00 kills per set in the Saluki Invitational. After the weekend, Medearis was named to the Saluki Invitational All-Tournament Team after posting 39 kills, 10 blocks and eight digs.
 
Boland posted a team-high 59 assists to average 4.54 per set in addition to securing 20 digs. Boland also recorded three service aces over the weekend.
 
Scouting Arizona
Arizona is coming off a perfect 3-0 weekend including winning in nine total sets after taking the match against Syracuse (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) on Saturday evening to improve to 7-2 on the season. In the game, Devyn Cross posted 10 kills on a .769 hitting percentage while Katie Smoot and Paige Whipple recorded 12 each. Kamaile Hiapo led the way with 14 digs on the night.
 
On the season, Whipple leads the team with 108 kills averaging 3.48 per set with a .246 hitting percentage. Additionally, Whipple boasts 70 digs (2.26/set), 14 blocks and five service aces. Julia Patterson paces the team in assists with 303 (9.77/set) and Hiapo holds the team lead in digs with 113 (3.65/set).
 
Scouting Sacramento State
Sacramento State is coming off a tough weekend at the UIC Invitational, dropping all three matches including a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) decision to host UIC on Saturday afternoon to move to 3-7 on the year.
 
In the match, the Hornets could not get past UIC's defense as UIC recorded 13 total blocks. Macey Hayden nearly posted a double double in 11 kills and nine digs followed by Sarah Davis recording 14 kills and seven digs with a .406 hitting percentage. Ashtin Olin had 32 assists and seven digs.
 
On the season, Davis leads the team with 143 kills averaging 3.76 kills per set alongside 73 digs, 13 total blocks and a team-high 10 service aces. Olin boasts 269 assists (7.69/set) while Paige Swinney has 166 digs (4.74/set) on the season.
 
Scouting New Mexico State
New Mexico State won its final two games of its home tournament, defeating Lamar 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 28-26, 25-17) in the nightcap on Saturday to improve to 8-1 on the season.
 
In the match, the Aggies recorded 63 kills and a .348 hitting percentage. Natalie Mikels grabbed her first double double of the season in 30 assists and 11 digs. Savannah Davison led the team with 15 kills, hitting .361.
 
On the season, Davison leads the way with 100 kills averaging 3.33 per set with a .244 hitting percentage. Mikels paces the team with 173 assists (5.77/set) while Davison and Razo are tied with 67 digs on the season.
 
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