MOBILE, Ala. - Behind the offensive production of juniors Hristina Markova and Juliana Almeida and senior Tereza Bendlova, the University of South Alabama volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette 3-2 (17-25, 20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 15-11) at Jag Gym and pick up its first conference win.  The Jag trio combined for 47 of South Alabama's 63 kills in the match and 32 digs.

"Hristina (Markova) and Juliana (Almeida) played with a lot of confidence tonight," South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  "Tonight, they played like the junior-experienced players that I think they are.  Another player that I thought played well for us was Tereza (Bendlova) in the back row.  She was scrappy and had some huge digs for us."

Markova led all players and tied a season-high with 18 kills, while Almeida finished the night with 15 kills and 13 digs - her ninth double-double of the season.  Bendlova was just as valuable on both sides of the net, as she posted her first double-double of the year with 14 kills and a career-high 18 digs.

USA reserves Jillian Jordan and Jaclyn Nickels also provided valuable time on the court and sparked the Jag offense with two and four kills, respectively.  Junior libero Kari Frazier's 18 digs were also a season-high for the Mobile native.

"I really think our players that came off the bench tonight really did a great job for us," Keshock said.  "In the fourth set, Jaclyn Nickels really helped bring us back.  Not everyone is going to have a great match every night, so we need to be able to depend on everybody.  We needed this win tonight, just to be able to get that feeling back of what we did during the preseason and see that we can play good and come back after a team challenges us."

USA (10-9, 1-5 SBC) will continue its home stand on Saturday when it host SBC West Division leader New Orleans at 5 p.m.  With the loss, ULL falls to 6-14 on the year and 0-5 in league play.

The Ragin' Cajuns placed three players in double figures offensively, led by Bethany Fogler and Caroline Dufrene - who each chipped in with 13 kills apiece.  Ariel Krolikowski was the other ULL player to end the match in double digits with 10 kills.  Reining SBC Defensive Player of the Year, Lindsay Brown posted a match-high 20 digs in the loss.

SET ONE: Louisiana-Lafayette 25, South Alabama 17

South Alabama jumped out to an early 5-3 lead on the Ragin' Cajuns in the first set, but ULL answered back with four-straight points to take a two-point advantage.  USA pulled to within one a few points later after a kill from Bendlova, but the Cajuns again came right back with an 8-3 scoring spurt.  Kendra Hall capped of the run and gave ULL a 15-9 lead with a pair of aces.

Louisiana-Lafayette held on to take the set with the 25-17 victory.  The Ragin' Cajuns came out hot offensively in the opening frame, recording a .429 attack percentage, while USA was only able to hit a .156.

SET TWO: Louisiana-Lafayette 25, South Alabama 20

The Jags again jumped out to the early lead in the second set, taking three of the first four points.  USA's advantage would be short-lived though as Louisiana-Lafayette reeled off six unanswered points.  South Alabama narrowed the deficit to 12-10 after a block solo and a kill from Markova, but the Cajuns pushed across seven of the next nine points to increase the deficit for South Alabama to seven.  ULL took the 19-12 lead after a Jaguar attack error, one of their seven in the set.

South Alabama tried to mount a late rally, narrowing the deficit to 24-20 after another kill from Markova, but Louisiana-Lafayette's Dufrene sealed the 25-20 win with one of her three kills in the frame.

SET THREE: South Alabama 25, Louisiana-Lafayette 22

Coming out of the intermission, USA got off to a good start in the third set.  Jordan and Almeida combined to turn back a Cajun attack and after another ULL attack error, the Jags held their largest lead to that point at four.  It was then Louisiana-Lafayette's turn to take advantage of some offensive miscues.  Aided by three Jaguar attack errors, ULL reeled off seven unanswered points and grabbed a 12-9 lead.

USA answered right back with five straight points of its own and after an ace from Almeida, retook the lead at 14-12. 

The set would stay close for the rest of the way, with neither team able to pull away from the other.  With things all square at 21, South Alabama was able to push across three consecutive points and take the lead for good after a couple of Cajun errors - a service error and an ball handling error -  and a kill from Markova.  The Sofia, Bulgaria native then clinched the 25-22 win for the Jags when she slammed home her 11th kill of the match.

SET FOUR: South Alabama 27, Louisiana-Lafayette 25

In the fourth set, the Ragin' Cajuns looked as if they were going to cruise to the match victory as they led by as many as six on several occasions, the last coming at 18-12.  It was at that point that the Jags turned to Almeida to lead the charge.  Over the next five points, Almeida led the offensive attack, posting four kills that narrowed the gap to three (19-16).

USA kept clawing its way back and eventually knotted things back up at 23-23 after another Almeida kill.  Over the next few points, Louisiana-Lafayette held match-point on a couple of occasions, but the Jags refused to lose.  Trailing by one late, Markova tied the contest up at 25 and Bendlova put South Alabama out in front with a kill of her own.  The Jaguars then evened the match up at two sets apiece when Louisiana-Lafayette committed an attack error that gave USA the 27-25 set win.

In the pivotal fourth set, Almeida (6), Markova (5) and Bendlova (5) combined to record 16 of South Alabama's 18 kills in the frame.

SET FIVE: South Alabama 15, Louisiana-Lafayette 11

In the finale with South Alabama trailing by one at 9-8, the Jags rattled off six unanswered points to take the lead for good.  USA began its run by taking advantage of bad Cajun set.  Then after a Bendlova kill and a ULL attack error, Lindsay Schwartz and Markova slammed home the Jags next three points with back-to-back-to-back kills. 

ULL pushed across the next two points, but Bendlova's put away sealed the come back and gave USA the 15-11 fifth set victory.

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).

NOTES: With the win, USA snaps its five match losing streak.  The win also snaps a streak of seven consecutive regular season SBC losses dating back to the end of the 2008 season.  South Alabama is now 3-0 in five set matches this season, defeating Jackson State 3-2 in Mobile at the Jaguar Classic back on Sept. 12 and Tennessee State on Sept. 4 at the Georgia Dawg Invitational in Athens, Ga. 

-- USA --