Southern University

BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University dropped a hard-fought four-set decision to Alcorn State, 3-1, on Wednesday night at the Horace W. Moody Intramural Sports Complex.
 
The Jaguars opened the match in dominant fashion, taking the first set 25-11, but Alcorn responded by winning the next three sets, 25-21, 26-24 and 25-14, to claim the Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup. Southern falls to 5-12 overall and 2-3 in SWAC play, while Alcorn improves to 2-13 and 2-3 in conference action.
 
Southern came out firing in the opening set, hitting .290 while limiting Alcorn to a -.062 attacking percentage. The Jaguars jumped out to an early advantage and steadily pulled away, closing the frame on a 6-2 run to take a 25-11 victory. Sereniti Johnson and Alyssa Williams led the attack with four and five kills, respectively, while Southern's defense held Alcorn to just six kills and eight errors.
 
Alcorn answered in the second set, using an early 5-0 run to take control. Southern battled back late after trailing 20-14, pulling within 22-20 behind a service ace from Alayah Wilson and a kill from Williams. The Jaguars could not complete the comeback, however, as Alcorn closed the set 25-21 to even the match.
 
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the night. Alcorn built a 15-10 advantage before Southern began chipping away at the deficit. The Jaguars eventually tied the set at 24-24 behind a kill from Johnson, but Alcorn answered with consecutive points to take the frame, 26-24. Southern hit .214 in the set and received four kills from Paulina Agudelo Marin.
 
Alcorn carried its momentum into the fourth set, racing to an 8-3 lead before extending the advantage to 15-5. Southern struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the frame, hitting -.091 with nine attack errors. The Jaguars managed to trim the deficit to 20-13 but could get no closer as Alcorn finished the match with a 25-14 victory.
 
Johnson led Southern with 12 kills and 11 digs, finishing with 14.5 points, while Williams added 11 kills on a team-best .526 hitting percentage. Agudelo Marin contributed six kills while hitting .312, and Braelynn Reese added four kills and two block.
 
Penina Vito directed the Southern offense with 25 assists, while Maleah Faust added 13 assists. Najah Harris anchored the defensive effort with a match-high 25 digs, and Reagan Robinson finished with nine digs.
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Jaguars will return to action on Friday when Southern takes on Mississippi Valley at the H.W. Moody Intramural Sports Complex at 6 p.m.

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