TUCSON, Ariz. | Alabama State dropped its final match of the Wildcat Classic to Arizona 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-18) at the McKale Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Jylen Whitten led Alabama State with seven kills, while Madison Beasley led the Lady Hornets with 14 assists. Emily Brooks added 12 assists, while Temperance Chatman led the team with nine digs.
 
Kymesha Thompson ended the day with three total blocks for Alabama State.
 
SET 1 | After Arizona opened with back-to-back points, Alabama State was able to end the small run on a kill from Christyn Ashby. However, the Wildcats continued the run and forced an Alabama State timeout up 6-1. The lead grew to 7-1 before Jada Rhodes recorded a kill to trim the deficit to 7-2. After Arizona got the set to 8-2, the Lady Hornets battled back with kills from Ashby and A'Nylah Cobb to pull within 9-6. Alabama State kept up the pressure, pulling to within 9-8 before Arizona put an end to the 7-2 run by the Lady Hornets. The Wildcats pushed the lead to 13-8 using a 4-0 run before Whitten went down the line with a kill to trim the deficit to 13-9. Arizona pushed the lead to 16-10, forcing another timeout before the teams traded points to keep the match at six points (17-11). From there, Arizona closed out the first set on an 8-1 run.
 
SET 2 | The Lady Hornets built an early 5-2 lead in the set with a kill and a pair of blocks from Thompson. From there, the teams traded points until Rhodes hit a kill down the line for a 7-4 lead for Alabama State. The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to take an 8-7 lead before Cobb ended that with a crosscourt kill to tie the set at 8-all. The two teams traded points with Arizona grabbing a 14-13 lead, however, Alabama State used a service ace from Brooks and a kill by Rhodes during the stretch. The Wildcats forced a timeout called by Alabama State as they were able to build the lead to 17-14 before a kill from Cobb ended a 6-0 run and pulled the Lady Hornets to within 20-15. Arizona was able to put the set away with five of the next six points for the 2-0 overall lead.
 
SET 3 | Arizona opened the third set up on a 4-1 run that was ended on a Whitten kill, her fourth of the match. The Lady Hornets trimmed the deficit to 4-3 on a Wildcats' error and tied it on a Cobb kill, her fifth of the match. From there, Arizona went on a 6-0 to force an Alabama State timeout up 10-4. The Lady Hornets responded out of the timeout with a kill from Thompson and a service ace from Brooks to trim the deficit to 10-6. Taila Gaines ended a 5-1 run out of a timeout for Alabama State with a kill, trimming the deficit to 17-10, before another kill off an assist from Beasley to trim the lead to 17-11. They were able to chip away at the lead with a kill from Whitten before another block by Thompson trimmed the deficit to 20-14.
 
Up Next
Alabama State opens Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on Friday, Sept. 22, on the road against Florida A&M before heading to Daytona Beach on Sunday, Sept. 24, to face Bethune-Cookman.
 
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