HOUSTON, Texas | Alabama State opened play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Cluster hosted at the H&PER Arena with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-17) sweep of Texas Southern on Sunday morning.
 
Jada Rhodes paced the Lady Hornets with 13 kills, while Taila Gaines and Jylen Whitten each added eight in the win. Madison Beasley posted a season-high 27 assists, while Temperance Chatman added 16 digs.
 
The Lady Hornets hit .224 in the three-set win.

How It Happened
SET 1 | After Texas Southern tied the opening set at 5-all, Alabama State wasted little time grabbing the lead with a 5-0 run highlighted by a pair of kills from Gaines and one each from Beasley, Rhodes, and A'Nylah Cobb to grab a 10-5 lead. After the Tigers pulled to within 10-7, Alabama State went on a 7-0 run to grab a 17-7 lead with kills from Whitten and Rhodes, and a pair of service aces from Rhodes. They extended the lead to 20-8 before Texas Southern made a run to pull to within 23-16 before kills from Rhodes and Beasley put the opening set away.
 
SET 2 | Texas Southern grabbed an early 10-7 lead and extended it to 13-9 before a 3-0 run by Alabama State closed the gap to 13-12. The Tigers pushed their lead to 14-12 before Alabama State went on an 8-0 run to grab a 20-14 lead. During the run, the Lady Hornets used four service aces by Chatman to grab the big lead. After Texas Southern pulled to within 20-18, the Lady Hornets scored five of the next seven points to put the set away for the 2-0 lead.
 
SET 3 | Alabama State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and extended it to 9-2 before Texas Southern climbed back into the set at 11-10. The Lady Hornets used a 7-1 run to extend the lead to 18-11 before a 4-0 run to close the set ended the match.
 
Up Next
Alabama State returns to action later Sunday afternoon against Prairie View A&M at the H&PER Arena, before facing Southern on Monday.

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