Florida International and Florida Atlantic Match Notes (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – As it heads in to the final weekend of the regular season seeking a berth in this year’s Sun Belt Conference tournament, the University of South Alabama volleyball team will host Florida International and Florida Atlantic in two pivotal league matches at Jag Gym.  USA will take on the Panthers on Friday night in its “DigPink” match with first serve set for 7 p.m.  The Jaguars will then close out the regular season and honor their three seniors prior to their match scheduled to start at noon.

Live stats for both matches can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com.

The Jaguars (9-17, 4-10 SBC) come into this weekend’s two contests seeking to earn a berth in this year’s Sun Belt Conference tournament.  Entering play this weekend, South Alabama is one of five teams in contention for one of the two final spots in the tournament.  Troy, Louisiana-Lafayette and UALR all sit at 5-9 in the conference, while USA and Louisiana-Monroe are a match back at 4-10.  In order to advance to the postseason, the Jags will need to sweep both matches this weekend and have some help.

This past weekend, South Alabama fell in straight sets to SBC East Division leaders Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee.

South Alabama continues to use a balanced offensive attack as four players are averaging 2.31 kills per set or better.  Freshman middle blocker Melissa Waelter leads the way with 2.58 per set, followed by senior outside hitter Samia Salomao (2.39), freshman outside hitter Maureen Ros (2.35) and junior middle blocker Olivia Mohler (2.31).

Both Mohler and Ros have been solid in the hitting category.  Mohler comes into play this weekend with a .239 percentage, while Ros is hitting a .218.  Ros has led USA in kills in 11 matches this season.

On the defensive side of the net, Mohler paces the club with 70 total blocks and 0.82 blocks per set.  Sophomore libero Jenna Hassell is eighth in the SBC in digs with 3.65 per set.

Prior to Sunday’s match versus Florida Atlantic, the Jaguars will honor their three seniors - Salomao, Jennica Hagberg and Jordan McMullan.  Salomao ranks fourth on USA’s career digs (1,178) and digs per set (3.04) charts, while Hagberg is eighth on the career assists list with (1,670).  McMullan has been a four-year letterwinner and seen time off the bench during her collegiate career.

Florida International comes into play this week sitting in third place in the Sun Belt’s East Division with a 17-8 overall record and a 9-5 mark in the league.  Over the weekend, FIU split its two road matches, sweeping Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, but falling in five sets at Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday.  The loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns snapped a six-match win streak for the Panthers.  FIU will host Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday night before heading to Mobile.

As they have all season, the Panthers have been led offensively by junior outside hitter Jovana Bjelica.  The Belgrade, Serbia, native leads the SBC and ranks 14th nationally in kills with 4.52 per set.  Bjelica is also 17th in the latest NCAA rankings in total points, averaging 5.02 per set.  She is hitting .256 and ranks third on FIU’s squad with 2.56 dps.    

The Panthers also have three other offensive weapons as Sabrina Gonzalez, Marija Prsa and Andrea Lakovic are all averaging over two kills per set.  Gonzalez is second on the club with 2.28 per set, while Prsa (2.14) and Lakovic (2.13) are close behind her.  

As a team, FIU is tied for third with Arkansas State in attack percentage as the Panthers are hitting .238.  Florida International also ranks third in the league in assists (12.30), kills (13.18) and blocks (2.27).  Individually, Gonzalez is fifth in the conference in blocks, while Lakovic ranks 10th.

Florida Atlantic enters play this weekend still in search of its first Sun Belt Conference victory this season.  This past weekend, the Owls fell to 3-24 overall and 0-14 in the SBC with road losses to Louisiana-Lafayette (3-0) and Louisiana-Monroe (3-1).  FAU’s last victory came back on Sept. 18 when the Owls defeated Bethune Cookman at the Bethune Cookman Tournament.  

FAU is just 1-9 on the road this season and has not won a conference road match in seven attempts.  The Owls will travel to Troy on Friday evening before heading to Mobile to face the Jags.

Leading the way offensively for Florida Atlantic is junior outside hitter Georgia Robinson.  Robinson leads the club with 215 kills and 2.31 kills per set.  Darija Sataric is second on the team in both categories with 165 and 1.88 kps.  

On defense, senior libero Cintia Nightingale paces the club with 3.22 digs per set.  Nightingale sits just 24 digs shy of eclipsing the 1,000 dig mark for her career.  Sara Stoll and Chandler Hatton anchor the front of the net, averaging 0.95 and 0.84 blocks per set, respectively.

As a team, FAU has struggled on the offensive side of the net.  Entering play this week, the Owls are hitting just .103 and averaging 8.7 kills per set - both last in the league.  Florida Atlantic is also allowing its opponents to hit .221.

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 Florida International and South Alabama this weekend will mark the 27th in the all-time series between the two clubs.  FIU holds a dominant 21-4-1 advantage in the all-time series, and has won the last 13 meetings - including a 3-0 decision earlier this season in Miami.  The Jags are also 1-8 versus the Panthers in matches played in Mobile.  The meeting between Florida Atlantic and South Alabama this weekend will mark the 13th in the all-time series between the two clubs.  FAU holds a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series.  USA picked up a 3-0 victory in Boca Raton earlier this season.  South Alabama is 1-3 in the series in matches played in Mobile.  Friday night’s match versus Florida International will be USA’s “DigPink” match for Breast Cancer awareness.

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