South Alabama 3, Troy 1 (.pdf)   

TROY, Ala. – Behind a season high 16 total blocks from the defensive front, the University of South Alabama volleyball team captured an important 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-22) Sun Belt Conference victory over East Division rival Troy Tuesday evening at Sartain Hall.  In the victory, USA recorded two solo blocks and a season-best 28 block assists.

“Blocking is something that we have been working on all season and it just hasn’t clicked for us yet until tonight,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “It really started for us tonight at the end of set one when Melissa Waelter and Lea Thurm ended the set on a block.  We came back alive in that area in sets three and four.”

Olivia Mohler led the way with eight block assists, while Lea Thurm (six block assists) and Katariina Kananen (one block solo and five block assists) each had six total blocks.  

USA (9-15, 4-8 SBC) will now return home for its final four home matches of the season.  The Jags will welcome Sun Belt East Division leaders Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee this weekend.  First serve versus the Toppers is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, while the match against the Blue Raiders will begin at noon on Sunday.  

“I saw this in practice yesterday and then in the match tonight, but I really think our team is playing well right now,” Keshock said.  “You try to avoid having a lull at the end of the season and you want to be playing well at this point of the season.  I think the way that we are playing right now will make it exciting as we head into the final two weekends of the regular season.”  

Offensively, South Alabama was led by a pair of freshmen – Maureen Ros and Melissa Waelter – as they each ended the night with a double-double.  Ros recorded her third double-double of the season with a match-high 15 kills and 13 digs, while Waelter had 14 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double effort of the season.  Amber Waytt added 10 kills of her own and Jaguar libero Jenna Hassell led all players with 19 digs.

With the loss, Troy falls to 15-11 overall and 5-7 in the league – just one game ahead of the Jaguars for fourth place in the standings.

The Trojan’s Devin Von Pingel and Breanna Cullity also ended the night in double digits offensively, finishing the match with 14 and 13 kills, respectively.  The Sun Belt dig leader Courtney Cohen had 18 digs in the loss.

SET ONE: South Alabama 27, Troy 25

Tied at 7-7 early on in the first set, South Alabama looked as if it were going to take control of the frame with a run of five unanswered points to take a 12-7 lead.  During the Jaguar scoring spurt, Waelter had a kill, while the Trojans added three more attack errors and a ball handling error.  

Over the next nine points, Troy answered back with a 7-2 run of its own and tied the set back up at 14.  Von Pingel and Cullity started the run with a kill each.  Cullity later capped off the scoring and tied the frame up with another kill.  

For there, the two clubs would keep things, but with the opening set tied at 25-25, Waelter slammed home her fifth kill of the frame to break the tie and then teamed up with Thurm to turn back a Trojan attack and give USA the two-point victory (27-25).

Along with Waelter, Wyatt and Ros also had five kills apiece in the opening set.

SET TWO: South Alabama 25, Troy 22

In the second set, the two clubs remained close for most of the frame as neither team was able to take more than a two-point advantage on the other.  

With USA and Troy tied at 19-19 late in the set, Mohler ignited a run of five-straight points for the Jags when the junior middle blocker recorded one of her nine kills on the night.  Kananen then dropped in a kill of her own and on the next point, recorded a solo block.  After a Trojan attack error, USA’s Ros posted an ace and Mohler then capped things off and put South Alabama a point away from taking the set with another kill.  

Troy was able to trim the deficit to two at 24-22 after a kill from Alexander Alexandrea, but Brittney McClelland served the ball into the net to put USA up 2-0 in the match and give the Jaguars the 25-22 win.

SET THREE: Troy 26, South Alabama 24

South Alabama led by as much as two seven times early on in the third set, only to see the Trojans come back and tie the frame up.  With the set tied at 10-10, the Jaguars finally began to break things open with a run of four-straight points.  Mohler and Kananen began the scoring spurt with a kill each.  The duo then combined for block and Mohler then continued her strong play at the net turning back another Trojan attack to give USA a 14-10 advantage.

Coming out of a timeout, Troy answered right back with five unanswered points of its own and took a 15-14 lead on a Mailande Parker ace.  

The lead was short-lived for the Trojans though as Mohler and Waelter slammed home two-consecutive kills to ignite a 7-2run for South Alabama over the next nine points.  Thurm and Ros later combined for another block to increase USA’s lead to 21-17.

Troy would not go away though and pushed across five of the next six points to tie the frame back up at 22-22 after a Jaguar attack error.  

South Alabama freshman then put the Jags one-point away from taking the match when the outside hitter posted back-to-back put aways, but Troy pushed across the final four points of the set and took the 26-24 advantage after two Von Pingel kills and a Jaguar attack error.

SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, Troy 22

Riding the momentum of the come-from-behind-victory in the previous set, Troy began the fourth frame with a 5-1 run.  With the Trojans still holding a four-point advantage, South Alabama attempted to chip away at the deficit, pulling to within one on two occasions, the last coming at 10-9 after an ace from Waelter.

Troy was able to push across four of the next five points and take a 14-10 lead on a block by Cullity and McClelland, but the Jaguar defense ignited a 9-1 South Alabama run.  The defense also capped off the run and put USA out in front 19-15 on a block assists from Kananen and Mohler.

Following a Trojan time out, Troy answered right back and pushed across five of the next six points and knotted the frame back up at 20-20 on a kill from Cullity.

USA though was able to quickly retake the lead back on the next point after a TU serving error and later clinched the match on a block assists from Ros and Thurm.

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: The meeting between Troy and South Alabama was the 58th in the all-time series between the two clubs.  USA holds a 37-21 advantage in the all-time series, and has won five of the last eight meetings.  The Jags are now 14-11 versus the Trojans in matches played in Troy.  The 16.0 total blocks (two solo, 28 block assists) by South Alabama versus the Trojans were a new season-best.  The previous high was 12 at Tulane on Sept. 17.  The 28 block assists were also a season-high for the Jags.  The match versus Troy also marked the third time this season that USA’s Maureen Ros and Melissa Waelter have recorded a double-double in the same match.  The duo also did it against Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe.

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