BATON ROUGE, La. – Alabama State advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 SWAC Women's Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-13) win over Texas Southern  at the Horace H. Moody Intramural Center Friday.
Alabama State (20-13) took the first set on the strength of a fast start by Rachel Smith, who picked up six kills in the stanza. A hard-fought second set on both sides fell Alabama State's way, as consecutive kills by Smith helped propel the Hornets on a quick 4-0 run that upped their lead from 18-16 to 22-16.
An attack error by Texas Southern's Audriana Carson wrapped up the second frame for the Hornets.
The third set saw Alabama State open up a 4-0 advantage, but Texas Southern (14-18) immediately closed the gap with three quick points. The Hornets responded with a 12-2 run to build their lead to double-digits (16-6).
Texas Southern shrank the deficit to six, but a succession of quick kills, as spearheaded by Chelsey Scott, allowed Alabama State to keep the match in their hands, as they closed the contest with a 9-2 run.
Scott and Smith each landed 13 kills for Alabama State. Kori Kutsch added 34 assists and five digs.
For Texas Southern, Carson led with seven kills. Robyn Shannon had 14 digs and six kills. Kali Fluke added five kills, four digs and three blocks. Asia Howard had 10 digs and seven kills.
Alabama State will face East No. 1 seed Jackson State in the semifinals on Saturday, while Texas Southern will take on Southern in the loser's bracket.
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