MACON, Ga. ? The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped its season opener 3-1 (30-32, 30-22, 30-28, 30-11) to Mercer (1-0) Saturday afternoon at the University Center. USA (0-1) will return to action on Tuesday when the Jags face cross-town foe Mobile at 7:30 p.m. on the Ram campus.
GAME ONE (South Alabama 32, Mercer 30)
For the first half of the opening game, neither team was able to grab more than a two-point advantage. With USA holding a 15-14 lead, Mercer pushed across four straight points to take a three-point lead of its own. With the Jags trailing 20-17, senior outside hitter Lauren Robbins started a Jaguar rally when she dropped in a in a shot in the back right corner of the court. South Alabama’s Hristina Markova then recorded two-straight kills and combined with Brittany Blackwelder for a block assist to narrow the deficit. The Bears then aided the USA run with three consecutive attack errors to put South Alabama out in front 24-20. Mercer did not give up and began to chip away at the Jag lead, eventually tying the contest up again at 27-27 on a Jen Darty kill. Trailing by one (29-30), USA went on to close out the match with three straight points. Robbins knotted the contest up at 30-30 with a kill and Jenna Swilley put the Jags up for good with an ace. USA took the opener 32-20.
GAME TWO (Mercer 30, South Alabama 22)
Trailing 1-0 in the match and 13-12 in the second game, the Lady Bears’ Julie Darty started a four-point spurt with a kill and capped off the run with a service ace to put Mercer up 16-13. Still holding a two-point advantage at 19-17, the Bears reeled off five unanswered points to grab a 24-17 lead. USA could draw no closer the rest of the way and Jen Darty gave the Bears the 30-22 game two victory with her sixth kill of the match. After hitting over .300 in the first game or the day, the Jags managed to just hit .026 in the second contest.
GAME THREE (Mercer 30, South Alabama 28)
With the match all square at one game apiece, Mercer broke a 10-10 tie with four consecutive points. Trailing by three (17-14) USA clawed its way back and tied the game back up at 18-all after back-to-back kills from Blackwelder and Swilley. Four points later with both clubs tied at 20, the Bears took seven of the next nine points to grab a 27-22 lead. During the run, Mercer was led by Karen Dorris, who recorded two kills and two aces during the run. With the Bears later standing just one point away from the game three victory, South Alabama battled back and cut the deficit to 29-28 on another Blackwelder kill. After a Mercer timeout though, USA severed the ball just outside the sideline and the Bears took the 2-1 match lead with the 30-28 win.
GAME FOUR (Mercer 30, South Alabama 11)
The host Bears came out in the finale and took control early, jumping out to a 10-2 advantage on a Jen Darty kill. Mercer then grabbed its first double-digit lead of the day after a Jaguar attack error and Jen Darty’s second ace of the game. South Alabama could draw no closer the rest of the way as the Bears went on to take the final game 30-11 and the match 3-1. In the finale, Mercer was on fire recording a hitting percentage of .363 compared to USA’s -.250.
The telling stat of the match was in the serve-receive area. Mercer recorded 11 service aces on the day, while the Jags committed 15 service errors.
Markova and Swilley led the South Alabama offense with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Swilley also recorded 13 digs for her first double-double of the season. Shannon VanAntwerp led the defense with 18 digs. Mercer was paced offensively by Julie Darty’s 16 kills. Also registering double-figure kill tallies for the Bears were Dorris (11) and Kendal Nichols (10).
