MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team is set to open the 2010 season in just over a week.  During that time, USAJaguars.com will take a sneak peek at the different positions leading up USA’s first match on Friday, Aug. 27 against Southern Miss at the Southern Miss Invitational.

The first of two features will preview the middle blocker and the hitter positions for the Jags.

MIDDLE BLOCKERS

At the middle blocker position, South Alabama will need to gain experience quickly, as two seniors with limited experience and two true freshmen battle for playing time on the court.

“The middle block was a position that we were concerned about and that’s why we brought in two freshmen that are extremely athletic,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “I knew their success would depend on how quickly they fit in and got use to our system.  I have been very impressed with our seniors though.  They have had limited match experience, but they’ve presented themselves well as seniors.  They have been focused and are playing like they really want to be on the court.”

One of those seniors – Jillian Jordan – has been a three-year letterwinner at USA, but during her career the Vancleave, Miss., native has only played in 13 matches and 26 sets during that time.  Last season, Jordan saw her most action, playing in nine matches and posting 14 kills and five blocks.

“With Jillian, things have really seemed to click with her this fall,” Keshock said.  “In our scrimmage the other day, she had 10 kills and only one error on 17 attempts.  That is exactly what we are looking for out of our middles.  We aren’t expecting them to get set as much as our outsides, but we are expecting them to have a good efficiency.  I think our passing and defense will allow them to get set more attempts, we’ll just have to wait to see if they are able to handle that responsibility.”

Like Jordan, fellow senior Jaclyn Nickels has also had a strong camp this year and will look to get into the mix for playing time.

“Jaclyn has been a very strong blocker for us,” Keshock said.  “Due to an abdominal injury here lately though, she has really had to focus on her hitting technique and it has made here more effective.  When she gets back healthy, she should be able to add her power to her technique and help us out.”

After playing in only two sets during her sophomore season with the program, Nickels worked her way into the line up midway through the year a season ago and averaged 1.09 kills and 0.52 blocks in 16 matches.

USA will also look for contributions from a pair of freshmen at the middle block position.  Torlandria Jones – a 5-9 athlete from Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, Ala. – was a three-time all-state selection for the Wildcats and over her final three prep season recorded 1,052 kills and 548 blocks.

The Jags, other freshman in the middle is Jessica Lewis.  As a senior, the 5-10 Cummings, Ga., native averaged 5.0 kills per set and 1.7 blocks, while helping West Forysth advance to the Elite Eight of the Georgia AAA playoffs and finish with an impressive 42-10-1 mark.

“Jessica Lewis improved tremendously so far this preseason, mainly because she hasn’t had any injuries or had to miss practice time,” Keshock added.  “Torlandria suffered a quad injury that has limited her for about four days and set her back a little bit, but on Tuesday she seemed to be returning to the form that she had the first couple of days of camp.”

OUTSIDE AND RIGHT SIDE HITTERS

The hitter position is one of the deepest positions on the 2010 Jaguar club, as five players will contend for playing time. 

Highlighting the list at the position is senior Juliana Almeida.  As a junior, Almeida had her best season in a Jag uniform, leading the team in both kills (312) and kills per set (3.03), while being just as valuable on defense, ranking second on the team with 2.33 digs.  Along with her outside hitting duties, Almeida will also see time in the setter position as USA will at times use a 6-2 offense.
 
“We are going to use a 6-2 this season, a system that we haven’t used in a while,” Keshock stated.  “We have given Juliana the role of being both an outside hitter and a setter in the offense and we feel that she is ready for this responsibility. This fall, she has handled the new role well.  I think she will be the only outside hitter that is capable of doing that in the conference and I think that will set her apart from the other outside hitters.”

“In a 6-2 offense, two of the six players on the court are setters.  Your setter comes from the back row and (the offense) allows you to have three hitters along the front at all times.  Your setter never goes to the front row.  The benefit of this is you have three hitters and typically three strong blocks along the front.”

Over the spring, South Alabama also gave a new role to another player, moving 6-2 sophomore Olivia Mohler to the outside hitter position.  As a freshman, Mohler recorded 119 kills and averaged 1.43 kills per set at the middle blocker position, while also capturing MVP honors at the Lady Panther Invitational.

“Olivia came into our program as a middle and we just knew eventually that she would be better on the outside,” Keshock said of the move.  “Our outside hitters are able to train at both the left and right side positions.  (Olivia) has had experience hitting from the left side in practice, but we just started seeing her be more effective there.  We switched our focus to really training her in that spot and seeing what she can do in scrimmage situations.  She definitely sees the court better from the left side and has more shots.  The transition for her to the left side has gone much more smoothly and seems like a natural position for her.”

Also looking to contribute to the South Alabama offense will be returnees Samia Salomao and Lea Thurm, as well as newcomers Valerie Podczasy – a transfer from Hofstra University – and incoming freshman Joanna Calhoun from Baker High School in Mobile.  Like Mohler, Salomao is also making the transition to the outside hitter position after playing in the defensive backcourt the past two seasons.  Both Salomao and Thurm are coming off strong spring seasons at the position. 

Podczasy will miss the first two to three weeks of the season after injuring her knee during preseason camp, but should look to get into the mix upon her return.  Calhoun joined the team earlier this week. 

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).