Prairie View, Texas – Alabama State's comeback hopes fell just short as the Lady Hornets dropped a 3-2 (12-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 14-16) decision to Southern in Southwestern Athletic Conference volleyball action in the SWAC West Roundup on Saturday evening.
 
Alabama State (3-15, 0-4 SWAC) struggled to find any offensive rhythm early on as they dropped the first two sets to the Jaguars (1-13, 1-3 SWAC) but battled back to force a fifth set where the Lady Hornets came up just short.
 
Sophomore Taryn King led the way offensively with a career-high 15 kills with a .286 hitting percentage. Junior Taira Cottingham followed behind with 11 kills and two blocks.
 
Junior E'laisah Young did it all with eight kills (.438 hitting) a game-high four blocks and a service ace. Freshman Emersen Belles posted a team-high 18 digs while junior McKenzie Boland tallied a game-high tying two service aces.
 
Set One (Alabama State 12, Southern 25)
Alabama State was unable to find an offensive rhythm in the first set as the Lady Hornets only recorded six kills and committed five errors. Southern tallied 16 kills with a .375 hitting percentage in the set.
 
Set Two (Alabama State 21, Southern 25)
The second set was a battle from beginning to end as there were eight ties and one lead change. The Lady Hornets were able to rack up 10 kills but the Jaguars tallied 15 with three service aces to take the set.
 
Set Three (Alabama State 25, Southern 19)
The Lady Hornets controlled all the momentum in the third set as they hit .385 with 13 kills. Alabama State held Southern to a .062 hitting percentage and forced eight errors. Sophomore Taryn King tallied five kills on six attempts.
 
Set Four (Alabama State 25, Southern 18)
Alabama State used the momentum from the third set in the fourth as they held Southern to a .000 hitting percentage and forced seven errors. The Lady Hornets recorded 13 kills in the set, eight of which coming from Young and King with four apiece.
 
Set Five (Alabama State 14, Southern 16)
The final set was a dog fight as there were 10 ties including Alabama State battling back to tie it at 14 but a kill and an error allowed Southern to slide away with the win. Alabama State hit .312 with eight kills but the Jaguars posted 10 to seal the win.
 
Up Next
Alabama State will wrap up the SWAC West Roundup with a 10 a.m. contest against Grambling State on Sunday.
 
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