Central Florida 3, South Alabama 0 (.pdf)

North Florida 3, South Alabama 2 (.pdf)
ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Friday at the Courtyard by Marriott/UCF Classic held at The Venue at UCF, falling 3-0 to tournament-host Central Florida and 3-2 to North Florida. 

“I think there were times today where our inexperience caused us to lose our composure,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said.  “Both against Central Florida and North Florida, we let some sets slip away.  That was in experience.  Our errors today, are things that we can easily work out with just more experience playing on the court.  The positives of today are that individual performances got better in the second match and we seemed to gel a little bit better as a team.  I think that will continue as we play more.

USA will wrap up play at the tournament on Saturday when the Jags take on Big 10 member Michigan State at 4 p.m. (CT).  Live stats for the match versus the Spartans can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com.

MATCH ONE: Central Florida 3, South Alabama 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-14)

In the Jags’ first match of the day, USA’s offense struggled as it hit a .010, recording 22 kills and committing 21 attack errors on 101 attempts.  The Golden Knights (1-0) were very efficient as they posted 43 kills, while committing just 10 attack errors for a blistering .379 hitting percentage.  Another key stat was in the dig category where UCF finished the match with 44, compared to just 28 by South Alabama.  Central Florida also posted one block solo and 10 block assists, while USA recorded just one block solo and two block assists.

Samia Salomao led the Jaguar attack in the opener with nine kills.  The senior outside hitter, along with freshman Melissa Waelter also posted a team-high eight digs against UCF

Central Florida was paced offensively by Angelica Crump’s 13 kills.  In 21 attacks, the sophomore outside hitter did not commit an error and carded a match-best .619 attack percentage.  Evija Vilde also ended the match with a double-digit kill tally, finishing with 11.  Ashley Gialenios was close behind her with nine kills of her own. 

SET ONE: Central Florida 25, South Alabama 19

In the opening set, South Alabama grabbed the first point after a UCF serving error, but that would be the only lead for the Jags in the first set as the Golden Knights quickly retook control.  Over the next several points, USA continued to battle and tied the set up on three more occasions, but tied at 12-12 after a kill from Salomao – one of her four in the frame, Central Florida was able to push across six of the next seven points to take the lead for good.  Gialenios began the mini run with a put away, and Nichole Riedel capped things off with back-to-back kills of her won.  Tory McCutcheon sealed the 25-19 victory for the Golden Knights with a kill of her own.

Central Florida set the tone in the opening set, posting a .306 hitting percentage.  Crump was able to record five of her 13 kills in the first frame.

SET TWO: Central Florida 25, South Alabama 17

USA was able to keep things close for a majority of the second set, but holding a 14-13 advantage, the Golden Knights used a run of three unanswered points to pull away from the Jags.  Crump bookended the UCF run with two more kills.  She would go on to post three more in the set and put her in double figures.  As a team, Central Florida continued its stellar offensive play, hitting .400 in the second frame and committing just two errors.  Conversely, USA managed to just record a .057 percentage. 

UCF didn’t allow South Alabama to get any closer than three points the remainder of the set and went on to take a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-17 win. 

SET THREE: Central Florida 25, South Alabama 14

In the third and final set, the Golden Knights took control from the outset, opening the frame with five-straight points.  Later in the set, Central Florida stretched its advantage out to double figures (21-10) after a run of seven unanswered points that was aided by three Jaguar attack errors and a service ace from Gialenios.  UCF later clinched the set and the match victory, 25-14, after a Jag serving error. 

MATCH TWO: North Florida 3, South Alabama 2 (25-15

In the night cap, South Alabama fought back, but could not overcome late mistakes in the final set as the Jaguars (0-2) dropped a 3-2 (25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-11) decision to North Florida in its second match of the day.

USA did manage to place three players in double figures in kills, led by Waelter’s 14.  Olivia Mohler also added 12 kills, while Salomao posted 10 and finished with 20 digs to give her 14th double-double of her career.  USA setter Katariina Kananen also posted a double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs .

North Florida was paced by Ana Budinska’s 15 kills, while Paige Pridgeon added 14 of her own.  Nicole Baran was one of four Osprey players to end the night in double figures in digs as she carded a match-high 29.

SET ONE: North Florida 25, South Alabama 21

Neither club was able to gain more than a one point advantage over the other for much of the first set, but tied at 9-9, South Alabama was the first to stretch out its lead as the Jags pushed across three consecutive points – courtesy of  two Osprey attack errors and an ace from Waelter – to grab a 12-9 lead.

UNF didn’t allow USA to hold the lead long as it rattled off six of the next seven points and retook the lead (15-13) after a back-to-back kills from Dagnija Medina.  The Ospreys eventually extended their lead out to as much as 19-15 after a Jaguar attack error, but USA responded right back with four unanswered points of its own and tied the contest back up at 19-all on an ace from Mohler.

Coming out of a time out, North Florida answered and closed the set on a 6-2 run to go up 1-0 in the match.  Marija Pantovic clinched the 25-21 win for UNF with one of her five kills in the match.

SET TWO: South Alabama 25, North Florida 15

In the second set, USA found its rhythm and evened things up.  Leading by one at 8-7, the Jaguars broke the set open with an 11-3 spurt over the next 14 points.  Waelter ignited the scoring run for the Jags with a kill and Mohler capped it off with a kill of her own.  Mohler and Waelter combined for seven kills during the run, while Salomao also dropped in a pair of aces.

From there, South Alabama controlled the remainder of the frame, never allowing the Ospreys to get any closer than seven points before taking the 25-15 victory and evening the match at one set apiece.

After recording just nine kills in the opening set, USA rattled off 16 in set two and posted a .400 hitting percentage.

SET THREE: North Florida 25, South Alabama 23

North Florida held the early advantage in set three, but the Jags battled back.  After tying the match up at 7-7, USA took its first lead since the opening point at 8-7 on an ace from Kananen.  South Alabama extended the lead out to as much as three on two occasions over the next several points, the last coming on a Lea Thurm put away at 11-8, but UNF began to chip away and eventually tied the set back up at 12-12 on a service ace from Britt Claessens.

With USA holding an 18-15 lead following another kill from Mohler, the Ospreys’ defense sparked a run as Claessens and Carolyn Jenkins combined to turn away a Jaguar attack.  Four points later, the duo combined again for a block and put UNF up 19-18.

South Alabama was able to rally back and grab a couple of two-point leads down the stretch, but holding a 23-21 advantage after block assists from Mohler and Maureen Ros, UNF reeled off four unanswered points to take the set 25-23.  Budinska’s kill completed the rally for the Osprey and gave them the 2-1 lead in the match.

SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, North Florida 22

In the fourth set, North Florida looked to be in control of the frame after breaking a 7-7 tie with five straight points, the last coming off of a kill from Medina, but USA continued to battle over the next several points and tied the set back up at 17-17 after an Osprey attack error.  Ros and Salomao led the charge back for the Jags as they each recorded two kills in the comeback effort.

Tied at 22, South Alabama was able to gain the final three points of the frame and even the match at two sets apiece with the 25-22 victory.  Down the stretch, UNF committed a bad set and two attack errors to give USA the needed three points.

SET FIVE: North Florida 15, South Alabama 11

South Alabama held an early two-point advantage in the fifth set, but with the Jags still leading at 6-5, North Florida grabbed the momentum and the lead with a 4-1run.  Pridgeon gave UNF the 10-7 lead with one of her seven kills in the final set

USA was able to narrow the deficit to two on three occasions down the stretch, including 13-11 after Ros and Mohler combined for another block assist.  However, UNF took the final two points of the frame after a kill from Budinska and a Jaguar attack error.

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: Senior outside hitter Samia Salomao became just the fifth Jag to eclipse the 1,000 dig mark for her career with her 28 combined digs on the afternoon.  She now has 1,010 for her career, just three behind Selena Chidester.