LORMAN, Miss. ? Juliana Pallamin de Almeida tallied 10 kills and South Alabama registered a .350 hitting percentage to earn a 30-16, 30-22, 30-21 victory over Alcorn State in non-conference volleyball action Tuesday night at E.E. Simmons Gymnasium. With the victory, the Jaguars improve to 5-5 on the season, equaling their win total for all of 2006.

Maria Kashavelova dished out 43 assists and had five kills in only eight attempts. Jenna Swilley added six kills, while Shannon VanAntwerp was credited with 19 digs. She is now just one shy of becoming the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 digs for her career. As a team, South Alabama recorded eight total blocks, with Kashavelova leading the way with five block assists.

The Braves (0-11) hit just .044 for the match, including a -.094 in the opening game. They finished the contest with 22 kills and 18 errors.

Trailing 6-4 at the start of the match, South Alabama scored four straight points to start a 13-1 run that made the score 17-7. Kari Frazier was server for nine of the points, including three service aces during the stretch. Alcorn closed to within eight at 20-12, but the Jaguars regrouped after a timeout to claim the game, 30-16.

South Alabama started the second game slowly as well. The Jags trailed by as many as six points, 13-7, and were down 14-12 when they began to rally. A 5-2 run closed the gap to 15-12, then a 5-1 spurt put USA ahead for the first time at 17-16.  Alcorn State stayed close at 21-20, but the Jags ended the game with nine of the next 11 points for a 30-22 victory.  Swilley and Almeida each contributed a pair of kills during the deciding run.

Game three was never in doubt as South Alabama scored the first two points and built a 14-3 lead. After Alcorn State closed to within four at 15-11 on four straight aces, the Jaguars rattled off four straight points on VanAntwerp’s serving to stretch the lead back to 19-11. Alcorn State never seriously challenged again as the teams traded points over the remaining plays in a 30-21 decision.

The Sun Belt Conference season begins this weekend as the top two teams in the East Division visit Jag Gym for matches. Preseason favorite Middle Tennessee (13-1) comes in Friday night at 7 p.m. after winning the UConn Toyota Classic this weekend, while Western Kentucky (10-3) follows on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.