MOBILE, Ala. ? The University of South Alabama volleyball team used a dominant performance Saturday afternoon and picked a 3-0 (30-17, 30-10, 30-11) victory in its home opener over Alabama State at Jag Gym.

USA (2-1) will now head to Chicago, Ill., to compete in the DePaul Invitational (Sept. 7-8).  The Jags will open tournament play on Friday versus Kennesaw State.  With the loss, the Hornets fall to 0-1.

GAME ONE (South Alabama 30, Alabama State 17)

In what would be the smallest margin of victory in the match for the Jags, USA came out in the opener and took control from the outset, taking five of the first six points.  After the Hornets narrowed the gap to three at 12-9, Lauren Robbins ignited a 6-2 spurt with one of her three service aces on the afternoon.  ASU was unable to get any closer as South Alabama took game one 30-17.

GAME TWO (South Alabama 30, Alabama State 10)

The Jags got out to another quick start in the second game of the match, opening with a 12-1 run.  The Hornets did not recover from the quick start by USA and went on to drop game two 30-10.  In the second contest, the Jags out hit ASU .367 to -.208.  South Alabama freshman outside hitter Hristina Markova provided the offense, recording eight of her match-high 12 kills in the second contest.  The Sofia, Bulgaria native was a perfect 8-for-8 on her offensive attacks in game two.

GAME THREE (South Alabama 30, Alabama State 11)

In the finale, South Alabama ended any hopes of a Hornet rally as the Jags took 12 of the first 15 points of the game.  Freshman middle blocker Hillary Lobenstein gave USA the 30-11 win and sealed the match victory with her sixth kill of the night.  In the third game, the Jags recorded their highest hitting percentage of the year, hitting .406.

Markova’s hitting percentage of .688 (12-1-16) tied with former Jag Whitney Sanders for the second highest hitting percentage ever in a match for Jag hitter.  USA used a balanced attack as five other players finished with five or more kill on the day.  South Alabama also had four players finish with three or more aces, led by Shannon VanAntwerp’s four.  With her 12 digs, VanAntwerp also moved into fifth place on USA’s all-time career digs chart as she now has 891 for her career.