JACKSONVILLE, Ala. | In their first action in 631 days, Alabama State dropped a pair of 3-0 matches to Middle Tennessee State and Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

HOW IT HAPPENED

GAME 1

• After scoring first in the opening set, Alabama State battled in a tight game against the Blue Raiders, as the set was tied multiple times before the Hornets found themselves down 11-9 and called a timeout.
• Mahogany Vinson (Richton Park, Ill.) made the next point for Alabama State out of the break, putting the score at 13-10, however Middle Tennessee took the opening set 25-17.
• Vinson led the Hornets with four kills on five attempts in the set, while McKenzie Boland (Stockbridge, Ga.) recorded six assists.
• The second set was more of the same, as both teams battled it out, trading points until a Blue Raider run extended their lead to double-digits and gave them the second set by a score of 25-14.
• Amaya Finley (Stockton, Calif.) led with two kills along with an ace in the second set, while Madison Beasley (Gilbert, Ariz.) totaled three assists.
• In the third and final set, Middle Tennessee opened with a huge 11-2 run, and continued their strong play to win the set 25-6.

GAME 2

• Alabama State began the set with a 2-0 lead off kills from Kalysia Bates (Phenix City, Ala.) and Jada Rhodes (Tallahassee, Fla.), both assisted by Beasley.
• Jacksonville State proceeded to score six unanswered, before an attack error put the score at 6-3.
• With the Hornets trailing 10-6, the Gamecocks went on another run, this time scoring four unanswered, and controlled the rest of the way to take the set 25-14.
• In the second, Alabama State fought back from a three-point deficit to tie the game at 7-7 before a small run from Jacksonville State to take a 10-7 lead.
• The Gamecocks extended their lead over the next few possessions, taking a 15-9 lead into the media timeout.
• The Hornets struggled to respond to the run, finding themselves down 20-10, however after a timeout closed the gap to single digits at 22-14, but could not complete the comeback and fell 25-16 in the second set.
• Alabama State came out of the break with a 4-0 run, taking the early lead in the third set, including two aces and two assists from Beasley.
• The Gamecocks responded with a run of their own to tie the game, and the teams' traded scores as the Hornets retook the lead at 8-6.
• Moments later in the set, trailing by a point, Alabama State tied the game at 10-10 off a kill from Finley.
• Jacksonville State responded once more with a four-point run, before Alabama State stopped the run to put the score at 15-12 heading into a media timeout.
• The Hornets continued to battle coming out of the media with a run to get within one, 17-16, before a pair of scores put the Gamecocks up 19-16.
• Alabama State battled back to get within two moments later, however fell by a score of 25-22.

MATCH NOTES

• Nine Alabama State players made their debuts for the Hornets today, after not playing in the 2020 spring season.
• The Hornets started six newcomers in the first game against Middle Tennessee, with Boland, a setter, being the only starter who played in 2019.
• Alabama State made a slight change to the starting lineup to start their match against Jacksonville State, with Beasley starting at setter.
• Vinson led the Hornets in both matches with 11 kills, followed by Bates who recorded 10 and Rhodes who recorded eight all in the second match. Beasley led the team in assists, with 22 combined on the day.

UP NEXT
Alabama State (0-2) will return to action on Saturday with their final game of the weekend tournament against Gardner-Webb. First serve is scheduled for 3 pm.

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