Texas Southern rallied back from an opening-set loss to defeat Alabama State 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-22) Friday evening at the H&PE Arena in Southwestern Athletic Conference volleyball action.
Texas Southern opened the match aggressively, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage behind an opening kill from Lauren Battle, a kill from Gracie Lee and a combined block by Morgynne McQueen and Battle. Ava Houston added a kill to extend the early momentum as the Tigers controlled the opening exchanges.
Alabama State responded with a 6-1 run to move ahead 7-6, aided by a pair of service aces from Ava O'Hare. The teams continued to exchange points before Texas Southern regained the lead at 13-10 following a Lacey Kusnier service ace, a Battle kill and an Alabama State attacking error.
The Hornets moved ahead 18-15 but TSU fought back to close within 20-19 after a Selena Morales kill. However, ASU scored five straight to claim set one 25-19.
Facing a one-set deficit, Texas Southern found its offensive rhythm in the second frame. The Tigers turned a 10-all tie into a 15-11 lead aided by four kills but Alabama State fought back as the teams battled to a 20-19 TSU lead. With the momentum going both ways, TSU consistently found ways to keep ASU at bay as Morgynne McQueen logged a huge kill for a 22-20 lead. McQueen's kill ignited the crowd and the offense as Lauren Battle followed with a kill along with an Asu attack error for a 24-21 lead. Selena Morales closed out the set with a kill for a 25-21 win.
Set three was another roller coaster as TSU led 9-5 but ASU went on a 9-3 run to lead 14-12. Battle added a pair of kills to regain momentum and started a back-and-forth pace which saw the lead change multiple times along with multiple set points. Down 24-23, the TSU defense came up big with a block from Aaliyah Brown and Kusnier to force deuce followed by another black from McQueen for the set point. ASU managed to tie it up on two occasions before McQueen's block and an ASU hitting error gave TSU a 2-1 lead.
TSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in set four and led 14-7 but the Hornets kept battling as they cut the margin to 15-12 and then 18-17. Battle's two kills ended the ASU run for a 20-17 lead and sparked a 4-2 surge to lead 24-19. But once again, ASU managed to claw back and narrow the deficit to 24-22 until an service error ended the match.
Battle led the Tigers with a match-high 15 kills for Texas Southern and added 11 digs for a double-double. Lee and McQueen contributed 10 kills apiece, while Houston finished with nine. McQueen delivered an efficient offensive performance, hitting .471 with 10 kills on 17 attempts and just two errors. She also led Texas Southern with three blocks. Kadence Davison directed the offense with 27 assists, while Ava Ray added 15. Battle and Kusnier shared the team lead with 11 digs each.
TSU is back in action at noon on Sunday against Alabama A&M inside the H&PE Arena.
