Kennesaw State 3, South Alabama 0 - Box Score

Nicholls State 3, South Alabama 0 - Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Southern Miss Invitational at the Reed Green Coliseum.  In the opener, USA fell 20-25, 21-25, 16-25 to Kennesaw State (2-0)  and then in match two, lost 25-27, 15-25, 14-25 to Nicholls State (1-2).

“Areas that we were consistent in yesterday, like our passing, broke down for us today,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “We did improve in some other areas that we struggled with yesterday, but we couldn’t put it all together.  We need to work on our consistency and just be more balanced.  I definitely saw some things this weekend that we need to work on and we will work to get those things corrected.”

The Jags (0-3) will now return home to host the Jaguar Classic beginning on Thursday when they welcome Southeastern Louisiana to Jag Gym.  First serve is set for 7 p.m.

MATCH ONE: Kennesaw State 3, South Alabama 0

Samia Salomao and Juliana Almeida led the way offensively in the opening match of the day as the duo recorded eight and seven kills, respectively for the Jags.  Almeida also finished with a team-best 13 assists and four digs, while Salomao chipped in with 13 digs of her own.  Senior libero Kari Frazier had 16 digs in the loss.

Kennesaw State’s Sabrita Gulley provided most of the offense for the Owls, as she posted a match-best 16 kills, while also recording seven digs.

SET ONE: Kennesaw State 25, South Alabama 20

In the opening set, South Alabama led by as much as three early on.  Following a kill from Almeida, the Jags held the momentum and a 16-13 advantage, but the Owls quickly answered with eight unanswered points of their own.  Gulley led the charge with three of her six kills in the first set during the KSU run.  USA had no answer and Kennesaw held on to take the 1-0 match lead with the 25-20 victory.

SET TWO: Kennesaw State 25, South Alabama 21

The Jags recorded the first point of the second set on a Jaclyn Nickels kill, but that was the only lead South Alabama would hold in the frame as KSU reeled off the next four points to take the lead for good.  Holding a 6-4 advantage over the Jags, Kennesaw blew things open with an 8-1 spurt and grabbed a 14-5 lead on another kill from Gulley.  Gulley led the way again in the second frame finishing with five more kills.  South Alabama was able to narrow the gap to 19-17 late after a pair of Owl attack errors, but that was as close as KSU let them get as the Owls went on to take the 25-21 set two victory.

SET THREE: Kennesaw State 25, South Alabama 16

In the final set of the opening match, the Owls broke a 12-12 tie with another small run, this one a 6-1 spurt.  The run was again led by Gulley, who added two more kills to her tally during the run, including one to give KSU the 18-13 advantage.  From that point on, the Owls held control and went on to take the match and the set with the 25-16 win.


MATCH TWO: Nicholls State 3, South Alabama 0

Almeida and Salomao again led the way for the Jags in the second match of the day.  Almeida posted a solid performance, recording a match-high 14 kills on 28 attempts, while committing just one attack error for a .464 hitting percentage.  The San Jose Dose Campos, Brazil native also finished with 11 digs to give her her first double-double of the season and the 19th of her career.  Salomao led USA with 17 digs of her own.

Nicholls State’s Jennifer Brandt had a team-high 11 kills, while libero Danielle Daigle was solid on defense, finishing with 18 digs.

SET ONE: Nicholls State 27, South Alabama 25

Set one of the match was close for much of the way as there were nine ties and three lead changes.  USA led by four (6-2) early in the set, but Nicholls hung around and came right back to quickly tie things back up.  With the frame all square at 17, the Colonels looked as if they had taken momentum for good with five-straight points, but South Alabama kept batting and evened the score at 24-24 after a NSU attack error.  In extra points, Almeida tied the contest at 25 with a kill, but after a Jag service error and an attack error, Nicholls outlasted USA and picked up the 27-25 victory.

SET TWO: Nicholls State 25, South Alabama 15

Nicholls State didn’t let the Jags hang around long in the second set, as the Colonels broke open a one-point advantage with a 9-2 run.  Jasmine Harris gave NSU the 14-6 advantage when she dropped in one of her two aces on the day.  Nicholls went on to lead by as many as 12 on a couple of occasions before taking the 25-15 win.

SET THREE: Nicholls State 25, South Alabama 14

Holding a 2-0 advantage heading into the third and final set, the Colonels took control right from the start, opening the frame with four straight points and leading by as much as eight (11-3) early on.  South Alabama continued to struggle offensively, hitting just .088 in the third set, while Nicholls posted its best percentage of the match at .343.  Rachela Yezak and Jessica Addicks sealed the 25-14 NSU victory with a kill each.

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).

Southern Miss All-Tournament Team

Lauren Chapman, NSU

Juliana Almeida, USA

Sabrita Gulley, KSU

Sara Metroka, KSU

Kelsea Seymour, USM

Lauren Sears, USM

Ashley Mell , USM - MVP