ATHENS, Ga. - The University of South Alabama volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit Friday afternoon to defeat Tennessee State, 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 15-12) on the opening day of the Georgia Dawg Invitational.
"Tonight's match was a very tough match," South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said. "Tennessee State runs a very fast offense and at the beginning, we were trying to match their quickness. After the third set, we started playing our game. The two biggest areas tonight for us were in our blocking and service game. We were able to get in front of them and our serving was able to take them out of their system. It was very important for us to get the five-set victory tonight"
USA (4-1) will face Duke at 9 a.m. and Georgia at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Ramsey Student Center. Live stats for Saturday's matches can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com.
"Duke is a big and physically powerful team, where as Tennessee State was really quick. We will have to change our strategy some, but still play our own game," Keshock said.
South Alabama's Hristina Markova led all players with 14 kills and recorded a season-best .345 hitting percentage. Juliana Almeida (13) and Lindsay Schwartz (11) also finished the match with double-digit kill tallies, while sophomore setter recorded her second double-double of the season with 45 assists and 11 digs. Tereza Bendlova and Kari Frazier paced South Alabama defensively with 15 digs apiece.
Terakka Walker led Tennessee State (1-3) with 13 kills and 16 digs in the loss. Shaquita Williams also ended the match with 11 kills and three service aces.
TENNESSEE STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
Early in the opening set, Tennessee State took control. With the Tigers holding a 3-2 advantage, TSU outscored South Alabama 9-1 over the next 10 points and took a 12-3 advantage after a Jaguar attack error - USA's fifth of the run. The Jaguars were able to get as close as six on several occasions the rest of the way, but Tennessee State did not allow them to draw any closer, holding on for the 25-17 victory. TSU was very efficient in the first set, recording a .300 hitting percentage (13 kills on 30 attempts, while committing just four attack errors. USA was only able to hit .065 in the opening set.
SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TENNESSEE STATE 23
In the second set, it was South Alabama who opened with a big run - this one an 8-3 spurt that was led by two kills apiece from Bendlova and Markova. The Tigers battled back though and claimed their first lead of the set at 14-13 after another Jaguar attack error. Williams later posted back-to-back kills to give Tennessee State its largest lead of the set at 19-16.
USA fought back and capitalized on a couple of TSU attack errors, retaking the lead 22-21 and later tied the set up at 23-23. Markova and Bendlova evened the match up at 1-1 when the duo recorded a kill each to give the Jags the 25-23 victory.
TENNESSEE STATE 26, SOUTH ALABAMA 24
The third set was a tight affair early on, but with USA holding an 8-7 lead following a Schwartz kill, Tennessee State rattled off five unanswered points and grabbed a 12-8 lead. Walker ignited the run for the Tigers with one of her match-high 13 kills on the afternoon. USA did not quit though and kept clawing its way back in the set, eventually tying the contest back up at 21-21on a Markova service ace.
With the set still tied at 24, Tennessee State's Walker slammed home a kill and Williams recorded an ace to give the Tigers the third set victory, 26-24.
SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TENNESSEE STATE 20
USA broke a 7-7 tie in the fourth set and took the lead with three straight points - two on a pair of Tiger attack errors and an Almeida ace. After TSU pulled back within one at 13-12, USA pushed across six of the next seven points to stretch its lead to 19-13. Five of the Jags' six points during the run, came courtesy of five Tennessee State errors.
Walker narrowed South Alabama's advantage to two (22-20) with another kill, but USA reeled off the final three points of the set and evened the match at two sets apiece with the 25-20 victory.
SOUTH ALABAMA 15, TENNESSEE STATE 12
In the fifth and final set of the match, the two clubs kept things close for much of the set. With Tennessee State holding a 10-8 lead late in the contest, USA mounted a rally ended the match with a 7-2 run to gain the set and match victory. The pivotal run was led by a pair of Jaguars, as Almeida and Schwartz combined to record five of South Alabama's final seven points. Almeida sealed the 15-12 Jaguar victory when the Brazilian slammed home her 13th kill of the match.
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 improves to 2-0 on the season and 7-6 all-time over Ohio Valley opponents...South Alabama is also now 10-4 all-time at the Georgia Invitational. The 4-1 start for the Jags marks the first time since the 1991 season that a South Alabama squad has obtained that mark through the first five matches of the season. The only other time USA began the season with four wins in its first five matches was during the 1980 season when the Jags began the year with a 9-0 record.
-- USA --
