Box Score - Denver 3, South Alabama 0

DENVER, Colo. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 19-25) road decision Friday night to Sun Belt Conference foe Denver at Hamilton Gym.

“Our serve was off tonight,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “We are usually able to put pressure on our opponents with our serving, but tonight we missed serves that we usually don’t miss.  When you don’t have that part of your game, it puts pressure on other areas.  We are definitely disappointed in how we played tonight, but we are going to get back to practice tomorrow and prepare for North Texas.  This season, when we have had a match like this, out team has been able to bounce back and hopefully that trend will continue on Sunday.”

USA (9-14, 4-4 SBC) had just two service aces against the Pioneers on Friday, while committing nine serving errors.  The Jags will next play at SBC West Division leader North Texas on Sunday.  First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Mean Green Volleyball Center. 

Offensively, Torlandria Jones and Juliana Almeida led South Alabama with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.  Jones also hit a team-best .455 at the net for the Jags.  Freshman libero Jenna Hassell paced USA with 12 digs.

The Pioneers (12-14, 6-5 SBC) used a balanced offensive effort against USA in the win, as five players finished with at least five kills.  DU was paced by Faimie Kingsley’s eight kills.  Kacie Wikierak led all players with 17 digs, while Alex Turgeon added 14 of her own.  

SET ONE: Denver 25, South Alabama 23

In the first set, Denver got off to a quick start, picking up the first three points of the match, but South Alabama didn’t let the Pioneers hold the momentum long as the Jags answered with a 9-2 run over the next 11 points.  Jaclyn Nickels’ kill capped off the run and put USA up, 9-5.  The Pioneers battled back over the next several points and eventually tied the frame back up at 16 after a kill from Kresson Vreeman.

USA regained the lead three points later and after a pair of aces from Samia Salomao and extended its advantage out to 20-17.  Denver again rallied back and tied the contest up at 22-22 after back-to-back kills from Killingsley and after exchanging points, the Pioneers pushed across the final two points of the first set and took the early 1-0 lead in the match with the 25-23 win.

SET TWO: Denver 25, South Alabama 19

South Alabama held the early momentum in the second set, opening up with a 6-1 run, but the Pioneers came right back with four-straight points of their own to pull within one and tied things up at 9-9 after a kill from Alyssa Bonelli and a Jaguar attack error.  After trading the next two points, USA retook the lead on a kill from Jones and stretched its lead out to 13-10 after a put away from Almeida. 

USA led by as much as four (16-12), but coming out of a time out, Denver rattled off four unanswered points and quickly tied the set up at 16 after a Turgeon kill.  The Pioneers hung around and reclaimed the lead on a Jaguar serving error.  Denver continued to hold control of the second set and closed strong picking up the final five points en route to the 25-19 victory

SET THREE: Denver 25, South Alabama 19

The Jags grabbed the first point of the third set, but that was the only lead of the frame that they would have, as the Pioneers pushed across eight of the next 11 points and held control from there on.  USA was able to get as close as two, the last coming at 18-16 after a kill from Jillian Jordan, but DU didn’t allow South Alabama to get any closer as it went on to clinch the match with the 25-19 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, the Pioneers improve to 18-1 in the all-time series and 10-0 in matches held in Denver…With her 11 digs, USA’s Samia Salomao is now just one dig away from moving into fifth-place on the Jags’ career list.