HOUSTON, Texas – The Alabama State University women's volleyball team started the day with a six-point opening set victory – the largest margin of any set – but fell to the Texas Southern Tigers in four sets on Friday night in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) matchup at the Health & Physical Education Arena.
The Lady Hornets (2-15, 0-4 SWAC) used a five-point burst to secure an early advantage, but in the three sets that followed, which had a nine-point combined margin of victory, each were claimed by the Tigers (4-13, 3-2 SWAC) as it rises to a game over .500 in conference play and improves on its home record on the year.
The first set saw TSU get an early edge, although a pair of service aces by
Ava O'Hare turned the tables in a five-point swing to give ASU a slim lead. Another strong Hornets series eliminated a brief Tigers run, capped off by a pair of
Kaylen Hines kills that made it an 18-15 game. It was trimmed down to one with five points to go for the visitors when Hines dominated once again, starting a run off with a kill and finishing the match with a pair of serves for the final 25-19 score.
Set two started off in similar fashion, although Alabama State never had a run of more than three points and trailed throughout, dropping three of the last four tallies and falling, 25-21, to enable TSU to tie things up at a set apiece.
The third frame was much more competitive, with ASU and TSU staying at each other's hip throughout the battle. The Hornets took advantage of five opponent errors – as well as service aces from
Kamrynn Clay and
Taylor Williams – to make an eight-point swing – but the set became a back-and-forth affair past the 25-point mark. A
Mikalah Davis kill extended the third set, and after TSU responded, ASU once again tied things up on a Clay-Hines joint block to make things 26-all. The Tigers proceeded to handle back-to-back rallies to reach 28 points, claiming the set and needing just one more to win the match.
Momentum from the win carried over to the final frame, as TSU opened with a 6-0 run and once again never trailed in a 25-22 clinching victory. The Hornets did have a run of seven points in nine opportunities, led by another O'Hare service run, but the early deficit ended up being too much to overcome.
Hines reached the 19-kill threshold for the third time this season, while junior
Alexis Williams joined her in double digits with 13 kills to go along with a team-best six blocks. Many of their attacks were assisted by Clay, who recorded one of her finest performances of the year in an errorless, 43-assist effort that also featured three ace serves and a trio of blocks.
Mirra Riddle finished the day with 20 digs, while O'Hare had three ace serves in a losing effort.
Despite the loss, the team led in many key categories, including points (68-66), ace serves (11-4) and blocks (8-4). It remained competitive in digs, 66-63, while holding its opponent to a sub .200 attack percentage on the evening.
The Lady Hornets remain in the Lone Star State for a matchup with Prairie View A&M on Sunday, Oct. 11 at noon inside the William J. Nicks building. It returns home for a pair of matches inside the Joe L. Reed Dunn-Oliver Acadome against Mississippi Valley State (Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.) and Jackson State (Sunday, Oct. 18 at noon) as it gets into the thick of conference play.
