GRAMBLING, La. | Alabama State (11-14, 9-2 SWAC) took home two wins on Saturday, sweeping Texas Southern in their first match before defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3-1 to wrap the day in the Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
GAME 1

• After an opening error from Texas Southern, Mahogany Vinson (Richton Park, Ill.) recorded the first kill of the game to give Alabama State an early 2-0 lead.
• Vinson earned the next two kills for the Hornets and helped extend the ASU lead to 10-6 later in the set.
• With the score the same, Alabama State went on a 6-2 run, including kills from Maya Thompson (Chicago, Ill.) and Amaya Finley (Stockton, Calif.) to go up 16-8 and force a Texas Southern timeout.
• The Tigers responded to get the score to 17-11, however the Hornets regained momentum and took the opener 25-16, never trailing in the set.
• The second set was a tighter battle, with the teams battling within a point of each other before Alabama State took a 9-7 lead after a service error.
• Texas Southern tied the score at 10-10 a few rallies later, and eventually took a 14-12 and 16-14 lead to force an Alabama State timeout.
• The Tigers continued their strong play after the break, gaining a five-point advantage at 21-16 before the Hornets fought back and tied the game at 25-25.
• Alabama State retook the lead on an attack error from the Tigers and finished the set at 28-26 on assisted blocks from A'Nylah Cobb (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Vinson.
• The Hornets jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the third and extended their lead to 15-7 after two straight aces from Cobb.
• Texas Southern responded with a four-point swing, forcing a Hornet timeout, however Alabama State recovered out of the break and took a 20-14 advantage and finished the sweep with a 25-16 win in the third and final set. 

GAME 2

• In the second game of the day for the Hornets, Alabama State jumped out to gain a 7-3 lead and later extended their lead to 12-4 to force Arkansas-Pine Bluff to call both of their timeouts.
• The Golden Lions responded over the next few rallies to reduce the deficit to single digits at 16-10 and kept it close to force an Alabama State timeout with the score at 23-16 before the Hornets took the first set by a score of 25-17.
• Alabama State gained the momentum early once again in the second set, forcing the first timeout from UAPB with the score at 5-2.
• The Golden Lions battled back over the next few rallies to tie the game at 10-10 and neither team could gain a significant advantage as the score was tied again at 16-16.
• Out of the break, neither team gained more than a single point lead until a block from Bates ended the second set by a score of 27-25.
• The third set began as a tight battle with Alabama State maintaining a slight lead until a tied score at 10-10 after a Golden Tiger service error.
• The error sparked a Hornet run as they went up 14-11 to force a UAPB timeout, where the Golden Lions responded with another run to tie the score for the eighth time of the set at 16-16.
• After an Alabama State timeout, UAPB maintained their strong play, taking the set 25-18 to avoid the sweep.
• Despite trailing early in the fourth set, Alabama State controlled most of the frame, gaining their first lead at 8-7 and did not trail for the remainder of the match.
• After a Golden Lion timeout, the Hornets exploded with an 8-2 run to find themselves up 16-9.
• UAPB climbed back within striking distance to get within three at 22-19, however could not complete the comeback as Alabama State finished the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.

GAME NOTES

• Three Hornets logged at least 20 kills on the day, with Kalysia Bates (Phenix City, Ala.) leading the way with 28 combined kills along with six digs and six blocks. Jada Rhodes (Tallahassee, Fla.) logged 23 kills, 18 digs, three assists and three blocks over the two matches, while Vinson recorded 20 kills and four blocks.
• Junior Emersen Belles (Gilbert, Ariz.) recorded 18 digs on the day to go along with four assists and three aces in seven sets.
• Both setters recorded a total of 41 assists on the day, with senior McKenzie Boland (Stockbridge, Ga.) adding 14 digs and two aces, while junior Madison Beasley (Gilbert, Ariz.) added six digs to her totals.

UP NEXT
Alabama State will conclude their weekend play on Saturday as they face host school Grambling at 11 am in the Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
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