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.
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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.
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Kymesha Thompson ended the day with three total blocks for Alabama State.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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