ATHENS, Ga. - The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a pair of matches, falling 3-0 to both Duke and the host Bulldogs Saturday at the Georgia Dawg Invitational held at the Ramsey Student Center.
"At times, we did saw some good things today, but we made some mistakes that cost us," South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said. "We definitely saw things need to work on this week in practice. When you play teams like we played this weekend, they can really exploit your weaknesses. One positive out of this weekend for us was that I thought Hristina (Markova) and Juliana (Almeida) really played well overall for us."
USA (4-3) will now return home to host the Jaguar Challenge, Sept. 11-12. The Jags will open the tournament against regional foe Southern Miss on Friday at 7 p.m. and then take on Nicholls State at 10 a.m. and Jackson State at 7 p.m.
With the wins, Duke improves to 4-1 on the season, while Georgia is now 4-2.
MATCH ONE: DUKE 3, SOUTH ALABAMA 0
In the opening match of the day, South Alabama fell in straight sets, 3-0 (17-25, 221-25, 17-25) to Duke.
Offensively, Juliana Almeida led the way for South Alabama with a match-high 13 kills and hit .321 for the match. Fellow junior Kari Frazier recorded a career-best five aces, while also carding 10 a team-high 10 digs. Duke was paced by Becci Burling's 12 kills (.471) and Sophia Dunworth's 10 kills (.600).
The Blue Devils recorded a blistering .419 attack percentage, compared to just .158 for the Jags.
DUKE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
The Blue Devils came out firing, opening the match with a 9-2 run. During the scoring spurt, Duke did a good job of spreading the offense, as six different players recorded a kill. South Alabama answered right back though with a 12-1 run of its own and eventually grabbed its first lead of the day at 11-10 when Lindsay Schwartz and Hristina Markova combined for a block assists on a Burling attack. Frazier later capped off the run with back-to-back aces to give the Jags a 14-10 advantage.
Duke came right back and rattled off five unanswered points to retake the lead (15-14) on an Amanda Robertson put away. With the score knotted at 15, the Blue Devils took control of the set for good and closed out the first set with a 10-2 run. Kellie Catanach sealed the 25-17 victory with two-straight kills to end the set.
Offensively, Duke was on fire in the opening set, recording 17 kills on 34 attempts, while committing just five attack errors for a .354 hitting percentage. USA managed to just hit .067 in the opening set.
DUKE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 21
South Alabama held as much as a two-point lead early on in set number two, but leading 7-6, Duke pushed across four consecutive points to take a three-point lead of its own at 10-7. Burling got things started for the Blue Devils with a pair of kills and Christina Falcone followed with back-to-back aces. Claire Smalzer later gave the Blue Devils its largest lead of the set at 18-13 with her second ace of the day.
The Jags came right back with three-straight points - a Markova kill and two Frazier aces - and pulled to within 18-17. Markova later tied the match back up at 20-20 when the junior outside hitter slammed home a kill. Two points later with things all square at 21-21, the Blue Devils rattled off four-consecutive points to take the 25-21 set-two victory. Brittany Staffeil finished things off with Duke's sixth and seventh aces of the set.
DUKE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
With the score tied at 5-5 in the final set, Burling book ended a four-point spurt for the Blue Devils. The junior middle blocker started the mini-run with a kill and then capped it off with an ace. USA got as close as one over the next few points, but holding a 9-8 advantage, Duke pulled away for good, outscoring the Jags 8-3 over the next 11 points. Christina Gray and Dunworth led the way for the Blue Devils during the run, combining for five kills. Duke went on to take the set and the match with the 25-17 victory.
MATCH TWO: GEORGIA 3, SOUTH ALABAMA 0
The host Bulldogs rode a strong offensive performance in the finale and swept the Jags, 3-0 in the night cap. Georgia's offense hit over .300 in all three sets on the night.
Almeida led all players with 15 kills, while Markova recorded 10 of her own for the Jags. UGA was paced by Erika Clark (11) and Ann Dylla (10).
GEORGIA 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 21
Trailing 7-5 early on in the first set, Almeida led a Jaguar rally of six straight points. During the run, the junior outside hitter recorded three kills during the run, including a pair at the end to give USA an 11-7 advantage. South Alabama maintained the lead until the Bulldogs tied the set back up at 17-17 after a pair of Jaguar attack errors.
Over the next several points, the two clubs exchanged points. Georgia was able to retake the lead for good (21-20) after a kill from Dylla. UGA's Clark later dropped in an ace to give the Bulldogs the 25-21 victory.
Almeida provided the offense for the Jags, as she had nine kills in the first set. Both teams hit over .300 in the opening frame, with USA hitting .344 and Georgia hitting .323.
GEORGIA 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 16
In set number two, the Bulldogs carried the momentum and opened the set up with a 9-0 run. USA was able to get as five at 13-8 on a Tereza Bendlova kill, but UGA eventually went on to lead by as many as 10, before taking the 25-16 victory.
Once again, Georgia was very efficient on the offensive side of the net, recording a .310 attack percentage in the second set.
GEORGIA 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 12
In the third and final set with USA holding a one-point advantage at 7-6, Georgia took the lead for good when the Bulldogs reeled off a 9-1 run to take a 15-8 lead. The Bulldogs kept things going and went on to take the match with 25-12 set three 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).
Georgia Dawgs Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Sophia Dunworth, MB/OH, Duke (Most Valuable Player)
Amanda Robertson, MB, Duke
Becci Burling, MB, Duke
Valentina Gonzalez, MH, Georgia
Juliana Almeida, OH, South Alabama
Terakka Walker, OH/L, Tennessee State
Most Valuable Libero: Carla Tietz, Georgia
NOTES: With the loss to Duke, South Alabama is now 2-22 all-time against opponents from the ACC. USA, who entered the weekend leading the Sun Belt in opponent's hitting percentage, surrendered a season-high .419 attack percentage to Duke on Saturday. Juliana Almeida was the lone Jag selected to the all-tournament team. For the tournament, Almeida averaged 3.73 kills per set.
-- USA --
