Southern University

GRAMBLING, La. — The Southern University volleyball team battled through five competitive sets against Grambling State but narrowly missed out on a Southwestern Athletic Conference road victory, falling 3-2 (24-26, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 15-13) Sunday afternoon at the Men's Memorial Gym.
 
The Lady Jaguars struck first in a tightly contested opening set, overcoming an early deficit to pull even at 24-24. Southern capitalized on consecutive Grambling errors to close out the set 26-24 and take an early 1-0 advantage.
 
Grambling responded in the second set, using a late run to edge Southern 25-23 and even the match. The Lady Jaguars remained within striking distance throughout the frame but could not hold off the Tigers down the stretch.
 
Southern regained the lead with its best offensive showing of the afternoon in the third set. The Lady Jaguars recorded 15 kills while hitting .350, committing just one attack error. The efficient offensive performance helped Southern pull away for a 25-21 victory and a 2-1 match advantage.
 
The Tigers answered in the fourth, establishing an early lead and maintaining control throughout the set. Grambling hit .342 with 16 kills to earn a 25-16 victory and force a decisive fifth set.
 
With the match on the line, both teams traded points early in the final frame before Grambling created just enough separation to secure the 15-13 victory and complete the comeback.
 
Mariah Mott led the Lady Jaguars with 14 kills while hitting .282. Alayah Wilson added 12 kills, four blocks and two service aces, while Norielle Battle chipped in 11 kills. Alyssa Williams finished with nine kills, and Paulina Agudelo Marin contributed six kills and five blocks.
 
Defensively, Najah Harris turned in a career-best performance with 34 digs to lead all players. Reagan Robinson added six digs, while Penina Vito paced the offense with 28 assists, six digs and two service aces. Maleah Faust also contributed 20 assists.
 
Southern finished the afternoon with 59 kills, 55 assists, 77 digs, 11 total blocks and eight service aces.
 
The Lady Jaguars fall to 9-18 overall and 5-9 in SWAC play, while Grambling improves to 13-13 overall and 9-5 in conference action.
 
UP NEXT
Southern will close out the regular season in Alabama when the Lady Jaguars take on Alabama A&M on November 13 at 6 p.m. and Alabama State on November 15 at noon.

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