MOBILE, Ala. - The University of South Alabama volleyball team made history this fall with a program-record nine consecutive Sun Belt Conference wins to open league play. The Jaguars took a bit of misfortune just before the conference season started and turned it into opportunity that helped kick-start its historic run.

USA began the season at an even 4-4 through its first eight games, and was scheduled to compete in Miami at the FIU Invitational as its final tune-up before entering SBC play. But devastation brought on by Hurricane Irma forced the cancellation of the tournament; however, that wasn't unfamiliar territory for the Jaguars and head coach Amy Hendrichovsky this year.

"The hurricane hit and the weekend after it hit, Miami was designated as disaster-relief so they were housing people in Miami," Hendrichovsky said. "It wasn't going to be cleaned up enough for us to actually go down there." 

It marked the second time this season the Jags lost a tournament due to a hurricane after Hurricane Harvey forced the cancellation of a tournament at Houston Baptist to open the season in August. But the Jags found an opponent in a similar situation in Tulane, who also had its tournament in San Antonio, Texas, cancelled. The Green Wave swept the Jags the opening weekend of the season in a pair of matches in New Orleans, but the experience proved valuable for USA just a few weeks later.

In now familiar waters, the Jaguars scheduled a pair of matches at Ole Miss, who also had a tournament in Orlando, Fla., cancelled due to the hurricane, for Sept. 15-16. 

"Prior to knowing if our tournament in Miami was cancelled, Ole Miss reached out to us," Hendrichovsky explained. "It worked out. Up until then, we were trying to find something because we knew that could happen. And the Monday of that week Ole Miss reached out to us. We discussed trying to get other opponents but couldn't find any, so we just decided to play two matches. Those two matches were what both teams needed going into conference play. We both had to compete and play at a high level. They were intense matches, and I think it prepared both of us for our conference seasons."

South Alabama split the weekend matches with the Rebels, taking the first contest in five sets. The following weekend, the Jaguars kicked off their historic run to open league play.

"Everyone was pretty disappointed that we weren't going to Miami, just to see it," Jaguar setter Parker Harrell said. "But when it all came down to it, it actually helped us out. We got to play a big SEC team, and it was a big win for us. It's really hard to come out and beat a team twice, especially a team of that caliber, but in the end it really helped us out. We got to play a really quality opponent and get a good win under our belt; that's kind of what kick-started everything. We went into the locker room and knew we had a good team with potential, and that we were only going to keep improving. That's the weekend that started it."

"The whole non-conference season was a buildup," Hendrichovsky said. "The first weekend you saw a team coming out of the gate that was, 'We're good'. We were unstoppable the first set in game one at Tulane, then we kind of relaxed. We really had to preach throughout the non-conference season to consistently execute for three sets, so we kind of had to build our endurance. After the first weekend, I asked (Director of Strength and Conditioning for Athletics) Callye (Williams) to start doing extra conditioning with us. In the spring we wanted to outwork and outsmart our opponents. I didn't feel like we outworked Tulane, so that meant we needed to put in more work in the gym. We started after the opening weekend incorporating extra conditioning going into our home tournament. 

"We had a big group of fans at the Alabama match, so I think there was a little bit of a stun factor to start. Once we got past that, we started to play and grind that volleyball we could. So we saw it again, and I thought we played really well against McNeese State and Southern Miss. The next weekend we had an opportunity with Auburn, and they were probably the best non-conference opponent we played. We didn't work through that with what we had been working on; we want to walk into the gym with an expectation that we are here to win and not just compete. I thought we brought the compete mentality against Auburn, but Ole Miss is when we walked on the court expecting to win and we found the win. I think that is what you saw, so we carried that into Texas State. We walked onto the court with the expectation to win and not just compete. The other aspect of it throughout the rest of conference play is beating the teams we are expected to beat and taking care of business."

South Alabama's nine wins to open Sun Belt play tied a program record for conference wins in a season, which the Jags set in Hendrichovsky's second season in 2013. USA dropped just four sets during its nine-game win streak, part of which was aided by strong defensive play.

The Jags led the league with an average of 3.26 blocks per set through their first nine league matches, led by middle blocker Kelley Hartman who posted an average of 1.39 blocks per set that ranked second in the league during that span.

In the Jags' two matches at Ole Miss, Hartman recorded 13 total blocks, along with two digs, to help lead a Jaguar defense that posted 24 total team blocks in nine sets.

"We talked before this season started about the schedule we were going to play, and how we needed to take care of teams we know we should beat along with the challenge of getting wins over some ranked teams," Hartman said. "Playing Ole Miss worked in our favor, because it turned out to be a huge win for us on the road against an SEC opponent. I think that really gave us the confidence we needed. We didn't win both of them, but it showed us that when we play well and together then that is how good we can be."

"Ole Miss is a really good team," senior libero Abby Baker said. "After we won, we knew we could beat anyone if we put our mind to it. We lost to them the second match, but it's really hard to beat a team like that twice. They made some really good adjustments, and we had to make adjustments but we didn't make as many as they did."

Entering Sun Belt Conference play, Hartman led the league in blocks per set (1.47) with 56 total blocks in 38 sets played. In 99 sets played as a freshman last season, Hartman recorded 59 total blocks for an average of 0.60 blocks per set.

"I gained a lot of experience last year, and that was super helpful because a lot of freshmen don't get that opportunity," Hartman said. "That was a big help, and this year the change in coaching staff was definitely a help. Not that we had bad coaches last year, but we have new eyes and information coming in this year. And our entire team this year is more confident than we were all of last year. That's helpful to me as a player, because I have confident people behind me and confident setters. It helps everyone individually as well as the team aspect."

Baker's previous experience in the program also helped carry the Jaguar defense during its historic win streak. Baker ranked fifth in the SBC in digs per set (4.18) entering conference play after recording 159 digs in 38 sets. The Fayetteville, Ga., native began the 2017 season ranked first at South Alabama in career digs per set (3.74) and sixth in career digs (1085).

"We worked really hard throughout the spring on our skill set, and we've been able to put it into play," Baker said. "Having mental toughness helps a lot in my position; I'm not the one who lives off of the energy of the crowd because I'm not getting the kills."

USA opened SBC play by sweeping Texas State in straight sets, followed by a four-set win over UTA in Arlington, Texas. From there, the Jags reeled off three straight wins at Jag Gym, defeating Georgia State in four sets, and sweeping Georgia Southern and Troy in straight sets, respectively.

South Alabama then swept Georgia Southern and GSU in straight sets in a pair of road matches Oct. 13-14 before returning to Mobile to defeat Little Rock in four sets on Oct. 20.

But on Oct. 22, USA's winning streak came to an end at the hands of Arkansas State. The Red Wolves defeated the Jaguars in four sets at Jag Gym, snapping USA's nine-game SBC win streak and six-game home win streak. 

"We walked onto the court against Arkansas State with the expectation to win, but we didn't win it so we had to figure some stuff out with more quality opponents coming up on the schedule to build us through for the (Sun Belt) tournament," Hendrichovsky said. "We have our model that we have been working on through the spring and into the fall. Our big focus in the offseason was winning the matches we are expected to win, and walking out on the court with a quality opponent expecting to win and not just compete. With Arkansas State, that was a perfect situation for us leading into the tournament. I just keep preaching to our team that the bigger picture is down the road, and we're still preparing physically, mentally and emotionally to get to that point in the season."

The Jaguars enter play this weekend in second place in the SBC East Division after falling to Coastal Carolina last weekend in Conway, S.C., in a match in which the teams entered tied for the division lead. South Alabama will host Louisiana at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by a 12:30 p.m. matchup with ULM Sunday at Jag Gym, before closing the regular season at home against CCU (Nov. 10) and Appalachian State (Nov. 12). The Jaguars will then head to Jonesboro, Ark., to compete in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Nov. 16-18, and will be looking to make history once more by claiming its first tournament title and NCAA postseason berth.

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

Join the Rally Score Club, the volleyball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Rally Score Club go directly to support the South Alabama volleyball program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/rallyscoreclub.