Box Score - South Alabama 3, Louisiana-Monroe 2 (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team won the first two sets with relative ease Friday evening but had to hold off Louisiana-Monroe late to pick up its 11th win of the season with a 3-2 (25-11, 25-14, 25-27, 23-25, 15-11) Sun Belt Conference victory over the Warhawks at Jag Gym.
“I’m proud of our team in the fact that they were able to pull out the win,” South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. “A win’s a win and we have to learn from this. I’m hoping that as we move forward that we focus on improving on a daily basis. I knew Louisiana-Monroe had a never-say-die attitude and I thought that they played as if they had nothing to lose tonight. They had a lot of great effort plays at the end of set three that won them some points. Our team needs to focus on staying composed and sticking to our game plan, which we weren’t able to do in sets three and four.”
USA (11-10, 4-3 SBC) will next host North Texas on Saturday with first serve set for 7 p.m. at Jag Gym. Live stats can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Louisiana-Monroe falls to 4-12 on the season and 0-7 in Sun Belt play.
South Alabama was led by Melissa Waelter’s fourth double-double of the season. The sophomore set new career highs for the Jaguars in the five-set win, as she recorded 22 kills and 18 digs. Savannah Stewart and Torlandria Jones also finished in double digits with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Stewart also ended the nigh t with 13 digs to give her her seventh double-double of the season. Senior setter Katariina Kananen added 50 assists and 11 digs for her 21st career double-double.
ULM was paced by Zuzana Markova’s triple double. Markova led the club with 19 kills, 16 assists and 11 digs, while also adding four blocks – one solo and three assists. As a team, the Warhawks finished with 19 total blocks – one solo and 18 assists. Blanca Ocana also chipped in with 11 kills of her own for Louisiana-Monroe.
USA held a huge advantage in the dig department, besting ULM 76-57 in the category. The Jaguars also out hit the Warhawks .265 to .097.
SET ONE: South Alabama 25, Louisiana-Monroe 11
South Alabama trailed by one early on in the opening set (5-4), but Olivia Mohler and Waelter provided a spark for the Jaguars as the duo led an 8-0 run. Over the course of the run, Mohler and Waelter each recorded two kills apiece, while also teaming up to block a Warhawk attack. Mohler’s two kills began and ended the scoring spurt for the Jaguars.
ULM’s Iren Marinova ended the run of unanswered points with a kill, but Waelter later gave USA a double-digit lead with as she added three more kills and back-to-back aces to put Jags up 18-8.
From there, South Alabama continued its strong play in the first set going on to take the first set 25-11 after another Mohler kill and three kills from Stewart.
The Jaguars were hot offensively as they posted an outstanding .481 hitting percentage, recording 16 kills on 27 attacks, while committing just three errors. USA backcourt defense also played a key role in the Jags’ strong play, as they held a 14-5 advantage in digs in the first frame.
SET TWO: South Alabama 25, Louisiana-Monroe 14
After taking the first set, USA took control early in the second. Holding a two-point advantage (5-3), the Jaguars pushed across seven of the next eight points to stretch their lead out to 12-4. Mohler and Waelter combined for three kills during the Jaguar run, but ULM cost itself points during that stretch as the Warhawks committed four unforced attack errors.
Markova – who had four kills in the second set – trimmed the ULM deficit to 13-9 with a put away, but coming out of a time out, Jones slammed home a kill of her own to end the threat. Later leading 17-11, South Alabama put the set away with a run of six-straight points. Jones ignited the run with a solo block. Lindsay Schwartz and Stewart then added a kill each and the Warhawks posted three more attack errors. Louisiana-Monroe would go on to commit 10 in the second set.
Waelter later sealed the 25-14 victory with her ninth kill of the evening.
USA was solid on the offensive side of the net for the second-straight set, posting a .310 hitting percentage. The Warhawks struggled with a -.125.
SET THREE: Louisiana-Monroe 27, South Alabama 25
USA led by four (6-2) early on in the third set, but the Warhawks battled back and picked up eight of the 10 points to take a two-point lead. ULM grabbed the 10-8 lead following back-to-back aces from Markova.
Waelter ended the Warhawk run with another kill and USA then tied the set back up at 10-10 on the next point after another ULM attack error.
With the two clubs still tied four points later at 12-12, the Jaguars pushed across four of the next five points to retake the lead. The South Alabama offense was balanced during the scoring spurt as four different players recorded kills for USA. ULM kept battling and trimmed the deficit to 16-15 after a pair of kills from Markova, but the Warhawks couldn’t tie the set up on the ensuing point as their serve went into the net.
South Alabama would go onto extend the lead back out to three on a couple more occasions, but ULM kept chipping away and eventually retook the lead (23-22) on Hazel Perrens’ ace.
USA later set one point away from taking the set and the match at 24-23 after a kill and a solo block from Stewart, but on match point, the Jaguars had an attack go wide down the left side line. ULM’s Markova later broke a 25-25 tie and gave the Warhawks the third-set victory with a pair of kills.
SET FOUR: Louisiana-Monroe 25, South Alabama 23
South Alabama rattled off the first three points of the fourth set, but Louisiana-Monroe answered right back with four-straight of their own to jump back out in front. The set remained close over the next several points, but tied 12-12 after a pair of ULM blocks, the Jaguars were able to take a 16-12 lead after a Waelter ace capped off a run of four-straight points.
The Jaguars later looked to be in control of the set, holding a 20-14 lead after a ULM attack error, but the Warhawks came back again with seven unanswered points of their own and took a one-point lead after a pair of USA attack errors. Markova also had an ace and a kill during the run and Marinova and Ocana posted a pair of blocks.
ULM later tied the match up at two sets apiece and clinched the fourth set (25-23) after kills from Maria Garcia and Markova.
South Alabama, which had been solid offensively most of the night, struggled in the fourth set, registering a .034 in the frame.
SET FIVE: South Alabama 15, Louisiana-Monroe 11
In the fifth and final set, Waelter broke a 7-7 tie and gave South Alabama the lead for good when the sophomore slammed home two-straight kills. From there, USA held control and clinched the set and the match with a 15-11 victory. The Jaguars bounced back, and hit a .304 in the final frame.
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: With the win, South Alabama improves to 7-5 in the all-time series and has now won six-straight. USA is also 4-0 all-time in matches in the series played in Mobile. The 11 wins match the total from each of the last four seasons. Both the 22 kills and the 18 digs were new career highs for USA’s Melissa Waelter. The performance marked her fourth double-double of the season and the seventh of her career. Freshman outside hitter Savannah Stewart also recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 14 kills and 13 digs. It was her first double-double since USA’s match versus Wisconsin back on Sept. 15. With her 50 assists and 11 digs, Jaguar setter Katariina Kananen posted her 21st career double-double and her seventh of the season. With her two block assists, senior opposite side hitter Lindsay Schwartz moved into a tie for third-place on the Jaguars’ career list with Angela Gattis as she now has 246 block assists for her career. South Alabama is now 3-0 overall and 2-0 in SBC play in five-set matches this season. The 27-25 third set win by Louisiana-Monroe was its first set-victory in conference play this season.
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