DENTON, Texas ? Behind a balanced offensive effort, the University of South Alabama volleyball team captured an important 3-1 (14-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-14) Sun Belt Conference road victory over North Texas Friday evening at the North Texas Volleyball Center.

With the win, South Alabama improves to 10-9 on the year and 4-7 in Sun Belt action.  The Jags will now continue on the road as they head to Denver to take on the Pioneers on Sunday.  North Texas drops to 4-18 overall and 2-7 in the SBC.

The win over the Mean Green in Denton was the first for the Jags since the 2001 season.

South Alabama had five players finish the night with six or more kills, led by Juliana Pallamin de Almeida’s 12.  Almeida also recorded a match-high 15 digs to give the sophomore her sixth double-double of the season.  Hristina Markova also added 10 kills in the win, followed by Brittany Blackwelder (9), Tereza Bendlova (7) and Lindsay Schwartz (6).

The key stat of the night was in the blocking category, where USA held a over a 2 to 1 advantage, recording 16 total blocks (two block solos, 28 block assists) to UNT’s seven (three block solos, eight block assists).  Blackwelder and Schwartz led the team with nine and eight block assists, respectively.

North Texas was paced offensively by Roxanna Casvean’s 14 kills.

SET ONE: North Texas 25, South Alabama 14

In the opening set, the host Mean Green came out and grabbed control from the start, opening the match with a 7-2 spurt.  After a Jaguar kill from Markova, North Texas pushed its advantage out to nine (12-3) with a run of five unanswered points, the last coming on a service ace from Breanne Owens, one of seven for the Mean Green in the first set.  USA answered back with three straight points of its own, but that was as close as the Jags got the rest of the way.  Owens led the North Texas service attack recording four aces during the first frame, including a stretch of three straight that gave UNT its largest lead of the set at 24-13.  North Texas went on to take the first set two points later when Amy Huddleston recorded a kill of her own to give the Mean Green the 25-14 victory.

SET TWO: South Alabama 25, North Texas 18

Unlike the opening set, South Alabama didn’t allow the Mean Green to get off to a quick start in the second set, keeping it close for the first portion of the frame.  With things all tied up at 11, the Jags reeled off eight of the next nine points to grab a seven-point advantage at 19-12.  During the Jaguar run, Schwartz led the way, recording three blocks for USA, including a block solo to cap off the run.  North Texas was only able to get as close as five the rest of the way, as South Alabama evened the match at 1-1 with the 25-18 set two victory.  Blackwelder and Markova sealed the seven point victory for USA when the duo recorded back-to-back kills.

After hitting a .357 in the first set, North Texas struggled to find its touch offensively in the second set, hitting a -.026 in the second set.

SET THREE: South Alabama 26, North Texas 24

North Texas held the early advantage in the third set, jumping out to an 8-4 lead.  USA answered back though with a 6-2 scoring spurt that was capped off by a Kari Frazier ace, her second of the match.  With the set all square at 13-13 later in the frame, the Mean Green gained the momentum when they were able to push across seven of the next nine points and take a 20-15 lead.  During the scoring spurt, Casvean led the UNT offense recording three kills during the run.   With USA still trailing by five (23-18), Blackwelder and Markova stepped up and led the Jaguar rally, combing to record seven of South Alabama’s final eight points down the stretch.  During the 8-2 run for the Jags, the duo combined for three block assists each.  Blackwelder also recorded three of her nine kills in the match during the Jaguar run, while Markova also added a kill as well.  With the thrilling rally, USA took the third set 26-24.

SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, North Texas 14

Heading into the fourth and final set with the momentum, South Alabama jumped out quickly and never let the Mean Green back into the match, opening the set up with a 7-2 run.  North Texas was only able to get as close as three a few points later, but USA quickly shut the door, pushing its lead back out to as many 11 on a few occasions, including the final margin of victory (25-14).  In the finale, South Alabama was on fire on the offensive side of the net, recording 12 kills on 20 attempts for a .600 attack percentage.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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