Lady Tigers fall to Alabama State in four sets in SWAC championship match

JACKSON, Miss. – Alabama State claimed its second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship Sunday after defeating Texas Southern in four sets.
 
Scores of the match were 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, and 25-18.
 
In a rematch of the 2016 championship match, the Lady Tigers were again denied the team's first conference tournament title since 1994. Texas Southern's record fell to 16-13.
 
Alabama State improved to 27-10 with the victory.
 
Cassidy Jannson's double-double performance with 12 kills and 13 digs led the Lady Tigers. TSU middle blocker Kirby Anderson also put away 12 kills, while teammate Alexis Austin chipped in 10 kills.
 
The aforementioned frontline trio were all named to All-Tournament team.
 
Senior defensive specialist Erin Adams (pictured) tallied 12 digs for the Lady Tigers, while fellow senior Ellena Torres handed out a team-high 16 assists. Asia Howard recorded 15 assists for TSU.
 
Alabama State's Ni'yesha Brown knocked down a match-high 15 kills.
 
The Lady Tigers will now wait to find out if they will be given the Southwestern Athletic Conference's automatic berth or an at-large berth into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The event – which is under the direction of Triple Crown Sports, which also produces the postseason WNIT Basketball tournament – returns to the college volleyball landscape after last being contested in 1995.