EVANSVILLE, IN --The Tennessee State volleyball team fought back from a 2-0 hole to record a come-from-behind five-set victory (22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 26-24, 15-7) over the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles Saturday on the road at Screaming Eagles Arena. The win boosted the Tigers' record to 14-15 overall and 8-8 in OVC action. Sofia Garcia-Guerrios had her second straight double-double with her season-high 40 assists and 15 digs. Her four kills was also a season-high. 

"Sofia has taken over our offense and help to lead us in more ways than one," said TSU head coach Donika Sutton. "She is the glue and has embraced her role. She activates hitters early, is ready on defense and serves aggressively. Sofia bleeds blue and she showed it today. She ran into the railing trying to save a ball in the fifth set. That's the type of player that I want to go to war with everyday."

The Tigers attack was paced by Johanna Alcantara, who finished with her season-high 28 kills on the day, seven coming in the fifth set, and by Kennedy Davis, who had 10 while hitting .476. Sofia Garcia-Guerrios dished out 40 assists which is her season high while Login Williams had 18 helpers. Defensively, TSU had three players reach double figures in digs, including Gina Rivera-Ortiz's 33, 15 from Carla Boudal, and 15 more from Garcia-Guerrios to give her a second straight double-double. From the front row, Aleksandra Rojecka contributed eight blocks and Davis added seven rejections. 

"Kennedy came in the set and dominated the net," said Sutton. "She challenged her teammates to pick it up. Jo took over the offense and carried us when we needed a spark. In the fifth set, we wanted to be the first to eight (points) and she made sue we did that and finished with a win."
 

Game Notes

» TSU dropped the first two sets of the match before rallying to win the final three.
» The Tigers had three players in double figures in digs.
» Gabrielle Johnson had a team-high one ace in the win.
» TSU never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-22.
» TSU never trailed on the way to winning the fourth set 15-7.
» Johanna Alcantara had a match-high 28 kills which is a season-high for her..
» Tennessee State got a match-high 33 digs from Gina Rivera-Ortiz.
» Tennessee State attackers were helped by a team-high 40 assists from Sofia Garcia-Guerrios which is a season-high.

How It Happened

SET 1 | The Tigers couldn't hang on in a back-and-forth first set, losing 25-22 in a game that featured five lead changes and was tied eight times. Neither team led by more than four points in the match.

SET 2 | TSU then dropped the second set 25-18 to fall behind in the match two sets to none. The Tigers fell behind on the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way before dropping the set.

SET 3 | After losing sets one and two, TSU fought back to take set three and make it a 2-1 match. The Tigers led from the opening point on in the set to secure a 25-22 victory. TSU opened up as much as a six point lead at 13-7 before finishing off the set.

SET 4 | Tennessee State continued their comeback, winning the fourth set 26-24 to bring the match level at two sets apiece. The Tigers came out on top of a close battle, winning in a stanza that was tied nine times and had three lead changes. Tennessee State got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked six Southern Indiana attacks in the stanza.

SET 5 | TSU came out smoking with an 8-1 start, culminating in a 15-7 fifth-set victory. Tennessee State opened up as much as an eight point lead at 10-2 before finishing off the set. Alcantara had seven of her team's 10 kills  in the set.

The Tigers will finish off the regular season with a weekend series against Little Rock.