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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team rounded out its 2016 class with the addition two players – Kellyn Reeves (Montgomery, Texas) and Iva Durdanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) – who will join the Jaguar roster this fall as announced by South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky on Friday.  

Reeves and Durdanovic bring USA's incoming class to six as Kelley Hartman (Woodstock, Ga.), Lauren Hartman (Woodstock, Ga.), Ashlyn Roberts (Sneads, Fla.) and Alahna Diaz (San Juan, Puerto Rico.) were announced last fall.

Kellyn Reeves
5-8 – Setter
Montgomery, Texas
Tyler (Texas) Junior College / Montgomery High School

Over the last two seasons, Reeves has lettered at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas.  As a sophomore, the 5-8 setter played in 115 sets in 30 matches for first-year head coach Brandi Hood and earned second-team all-region honors.  Reeves averaged 11.98 assists per set – which led all of NJCAA, while helping Tyler (24-6, 8-0) advance to the NJCAA Region XIV tournament and finish the regular season ranked seventh in the final NJCAA poll.  The Apaches climbed as high as first in the national poll in early September after winning eight of their first nine matches.  The conference title was the fourth consecutive for Tyler.

"While recruiting Kellyn, I was very impressed with her maturity, poise and self-confidence individually," Hendrichovsky said.  "She is a court general on the floor – the setting position is a critical position to any team – and her ability to control the energy on her side as well as manage the momentum of the game was most impressive.  The tempo she can run and consistency in her location is the reason she led the NJCAA-I in assists per set.  Kellyn's competitive nature and ability to make her hitters better is a large reason I'm excited to have her join our program."  

With Reeves directing the Apache offensive attack, Tyler ranked second nationally in assists per set (12.97), third in kills per set (13.70), 23rd in hitting percentage (.249), 24th in kills (1,575).  Of Tyler's 1491 assists last season, Reeves was responsible for 1,378 of them.  Reeves was even better in conference play as she averaged 13.21 assists and 2.86 digs per set against league competition.

As a sophomore, she had 20 matches of 40 or more assists, posting two 60-plus outings.  Reeves recorded a season-high 64 assists in a 3-2 victory over Missouri State-West Plains on Oct. 2.  She was also strong defensively as she averaged 2.37 digs per set and had 14 double-doubles.  She also had 29 total blocks – six solo and 23 block assists.

During the 2014 season, Reeves appeared in 58 sets and 18 matches for Tyler for NJCAA Hall of Fame coach Ronda Shirley.  During that time, she recorded 337 assists and averaged 5.81 assists per set splitting time at the setter position.  

Tyler finished the regular season ranked third nationally and with a 36-7 overall record, 10-0 in conference.  The Apaches advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA tournament and finished eighth in the national tournament.  Reeves recorded a season-best 40 assists in a 3-0 win over Lee on Sept. 24 of her freshman year.  Tyler had a 19-match win-streak at one point during the year and 21 of its 36 wins were in straight sets.

Prior to her time at Tyler, Reeves lettered at Montgomery High School in Montgomery, Texas, and also played at the club level for four years.

Iva Durdanovic (Ee-va Jer-jon-oh-vich)
5-10 – Outside Hitter
Belgrade, Serbia
14.  Belgrade Gymnasium

Durdanovic lettered four seasons for 14. Belgrade Gymnasium in her native home of Belgrade, Serbia.  She also played five seasons for the Red Star club team based in Belgrade, Serbia.   

"Iva is one of the most intelligent athletes I have recruited," Hendrichovsky said.  "She truly has the soul and wisdom of an adult and knows exactly what her priorities are and what she wants to accomplish in her lifetime.  She fits our philosophy of working hard in the classroom and on the court.  Iva will immediately bring a confidence and strong mentality to our gym.  She is a terminal attacker and has competed at a high level.  We expect Iva to have an immediate impact on the program when she arrives."

During the 2015 season, she helped lead her high school team to a fourth-place finish at the Championship of Belgrade and a second-place finish at the Youth Girls, State Championship. Durdanovic also played beach volleyball in 2015 where her and her teammate, Anja Andjelkovic finished second at the U109 Girls Beach Volleyball Tournament in Temerin, Serbia and fourth at the U20 Beach Volleyball Balkan Championship held in Temisoara, Romania.  

In 2014, Durdanovic guided her team to second-place finishes at The Championship of Belgrade (Youth Girls Division and the Junior Girls Division) and at the State Championships (Youth Girls).  They also finished third that same season at the State Championships (Junior Girls).  

In 2013, her teams finished second at the State Championship for Youth Girls, and in the Youth Girls and Junior Girls divisions at the Championship of Belgrade.  Durdanovic also was a member of the Pre-Youth National Team of Serbia that finished second at the Pre-Youth Girls Balkan Championship held in Bucharest, Romania.  Also competed on the Youth National Team of Serbia where they finished second at the 2012 Youth Girls Balkan Championships held in Kazanilak, Bulgaria. 

Chose South Alabama over Sun Belt Conference member Little Rock, Virginia Commonwealth, and Rhode Island among others.

2016 Class
Alahna Diaz – 5-4 – Defensive Specialist/Libero – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Academia Maria Reina
Iva Durdanovic – 5-10 – Outside Hitter – Belgrade, Serbia – Belgrade, Serbia
Kelley Hartman – 6-2 – Middle Blocker – Woodstock, Ga. – Sequoyah High School
Lauren Hartman – 6-1 – Outside Hitter – Woodstock, Ga. – Sequoyah High School
Kellyn Reeves – 5-8 – Setter – Montgomery, Texas – Tyler (Texas) Junior College / Montgomery High School
Ashlyn Roberts – 5-4 – Libero/Setter – Sneads, Fla. – Sneads High School

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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