Jaguar Classic Tournament Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team returns home this weekend to host the 2010 Jaguar Classic.  USA will open the three-day tournament on Thursday evening when the Jags take on Southeastern Louisiana at Jag Gym at 7 p.m.  South Alabama will also have a pair of matches on Friday – vs. Alabama A&M (3 p.m.) and vs. UNC-Asheville (7 p.m.) – and then close out play on Saturday at 9 a.m. against Alabama State.

The Jags (0-3) enter play this weekend looking for their first win of the 2010 season.  Last weekend, USA was swept in all three of its matches at the Southern Miss Invitational, falling to Southern Miss, Kennesaw State and Nicholls State.

“Regardless of our record from this past weekend, our team understands that the performance, especially against Nicholls State and part of the Kennesaw State match, was just unacceptable,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “We’re not going to accept that that’s ok.  At our scrimmage (on Monday), we started to see our team making some changes already in some of the things we wanted to work on for this weekend.  I think that each time we step onto the court; we are going to get better.  We saw that at times throughout this past weekend, but now we just need to be more consistent.  We have to be more consistent in all areas of our game and within each individual.”

Senior outside hitter Juliana Almeida leads the club offensively as she is averaging 2.78 kills per set.  The San Jose Dos Campos, Brazil native is also hitting .250, while ranking third on the team in digs with 2.33 per set.  Against Nicholls, Almeida recorded the 19th double-double of her career with a 14 kill, 11 dig effort.  She was also selected to the all-tournament team for her play over the weekend.  On defense, junior outside hitter Samia Salomao’s 3.89 digs leads the team, while senior libero Kari Frazier is second with 3.22 per set.

The Lions – USA’s opening round opponent - enter the tournament this weekend after opening the season with a 3-1 performance at the Jackson State Invitational in Jackson Miss.  Southeastern Louisiana’s wins during the tourney came against the host Tigers (3-2) and a pair of 3-0 sweeps over former Sun Belt member New Orleans and current league member Louisiana-Monroe, while the lone loss was in straight-sets to North Texas.

Courtney Donald (2.29 kps) and Cherish Krohn (2.22 kps) pace the Lions offensively after the first weekend of play.   Alex Greer posted a solid effort at the JSU tourney, averaging 3.60 digs per set.  SELA has also been strong along the front of the net as three players - Donald, Paige Dollison and Stephanie Mueller - all have at least 11 blocks thus far this season.  As a team, the Lions are averaging 2.0 blocks per set.

Alabama A&M is also coming off a 0-3 start this past weekend as they were swept in straight-sets by UAB, Indiana and Georgia Tech at the Georgia Tech Classic in Atlanta, Ga.  Alabama A&M did finish the 2009 season with 22 wins, including a perfect 8-0 in SWAC play en route to their third-straight league title.

Through the first week of play, AAMU is led offensively by Clarissa Moore’s 2.11 kills per set.  On the defensive side, Rose Cornielle paces the club with 3.89 digs per set. 
 
UNC-Asheville comes into the Jaguar Classic after finishing with a 1-2 record at the James Madison Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va.  The Bulldogs dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions to James Madison and Davidson to start the tourney, but bounced back to pick up a 3-1 victory over Stetson on Saturday. 

Kelsey Benorden and Cindi Miller have been on fire offensively thus far in 2010.  Benorden – who earned all-tournament honors at the JMU tourney – is averaging nearly four kills a set, entering the weekend with 3.90, while Miller is close behind her with 3.60.  Benorden (4.50 dps) and Miller (3.10 dps) have been just as valuable on defense.  Freshman libero Alex Stewart’s 3.60 digs per set ranks second on the club.

The Hornets (0-2) also come into the Jaguar Classic looking to pick up their first win of the season.  Over the weekend, ASU dropped a pair of matches in New Orleans, La., falling to both Belhaven (3-1) and Xavier (N.O.) (3-2).  Alabama State will face fellow SWAC member Southern on Thursday in Montgomery, prior to taking on USA.

Through two matches, senior outside hitter Brena Wheeler leads the club with 3.22 kills per set.  Sophomore defensive specialist Roselande Corneille has posted two solid performances in the back court and is averaging 4.78 digs per set.

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: South Alabama and Southeastern Louisiana have met 38 times in the all-time series between the two programs.  Neither team holds an advantage in the series as the two clubs are tied at 19-19.  The Jags and the Lions will also meet later in the season on Sept. 14.  USA has won three-straight in the series coming into Thursday’s match.  Against current members of the Southland Conference, South Alabama holds an all-time record of 51-50.  South Alabama and Alabama A&M have met just one time with the Jags picking up a 3-0 victory at the Country Inn & Suites Challenge back during the 2008 season.  USA and Alabama State have met 25 times with the Jags holding a 21-4 advantage in the series.  South Alabama holds a 48-7 all-time record against current Southwestern Athletic Conference members and was a perfect 4-0 against the league last season. USA will also face Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern this season at the Nicholls Invitational.  South Alabama and UNC-Asheville have met just once in the all-time series between the two programs, with the Jags holding a 1-0 advantage in the series.  The only other time the two programs met was back during the 2001 season when the Jags picked up a 3-2 victory.  Against current members of the Big South Conference, South Alabama holds an all-time record of 6-2.