MOBILE, Ala. ? After spending much of the early part of the season on the road, the University of South Alabama volleyball team returns home this weekend to host the Jaguar Classic. Tournament action is set to begin on Friday at 4 p.m. when Kennesaw State takes on McNeese State at Jag Gym. South Alabama will host Lipscomb in the night cap with first serve set for 7 p.m.
On Saturday, the four teams will return to action on Saturday with USA starting things off against Kennesaw State at 11 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., Lipscomb will face McNeese State and then the Jags and the Cowgirls will face each other in the final match at 4 p.m.
South Alabama (3-3) enters the Jaguar Classic coming off a 1-2 performance at the DePaul Invitational last weekend. USA opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Kennesaw State on Friday and then dropped a pair of contest on Saturday; 3-1 to Samford and 3-0 to DePaul.
At the DePaul Invitational, the Jags had a balanced offensive performance from their hitters as four players finished the tourney averaging three or more kills a game. True freshman Hristina Markova led the club with 3.89 kpg and recorded a season-high 24 kills against Samford. Senior libero Shannon VanAntwerp was selected to the all-tournament team after recording a team-best 4.30 digs per game in the three matches.
The Jags continue to be led offensively by a pair of freshmen. Markova and fellow newcomer Juliana Pallamin de Almeida are both averaging over three kills per contest, with Markova leading the way at 3.89 per game (Seventh in SBC). VanAntwerp (3.90 dpg) tops the club and ranks ninth in the SBC in digs entering tournament play this weekend.
Entering play this week, as a team USA continued to lead the Sun Belt in service aces, while senior Lauren Robbins and Markova rank second and third in the SBC in that category.
Lipscomb enters the match versus South Alabama on Friday night with a 3-7 record this season. On Tuesday night, the Lady Bison 3-2 (16-30, 30-27, 27-30, 30-27, 15-13) at home to Evansville. Last weekend, LU went 2-1 at the IPFW Tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Junior outside hitter Sarah Snyder leads the team offensively with 4.48 kills per game. So far this season, Snyder has recorded 148 kills in 10 matches. Senior libero Ann Mullins enters the match averaging an impressive 5.44 digs per game for Lipscomb.
The meeting Saturday morning between USA and Kennesaw State (2-10) will be the second meeting in as many weeks for the two programs. USA defeated KSU 3-0 (30-18, 30-20, 30-26) last weekend in the opening match of the DePaul Invitational.
McNeese State comes into the Jaguar Classic with a 4-6 mark this season. In its last match, MSU picked up a 3-1 (30-18, 28-30, 30-17, 30-28) victory over Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Lafayette at home. Junior Alyson Jones and sophomore Jennifer Cook lead the club offensively on the season, both averaging over three kills a game.
Following the Jaguar Classic, USA will continue the non-conference portion of its schedule when it heads to Lorman, Miss., to take on SWAC member Alcorn State.
