Box Score - South Alabama 3, North Texas 1 (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team placed three players in double figures offensively Saturday evening as the Jaguars captured a 3-1 (30-28, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18) Sun Belt Conference victory over North Texas at Jag Gym.
Lindsay Schwartz and Melissa Waelter led USA offensively in the victory, each registering 14 kills. Schwartz was solid on the attack as the Watertown, Wis., native posted a .500 hitting percentage, committing just one error on 26 attempts. A night after setting career best in kills and digs, Waelter carded her fifth double-double of the season, adding 13 digs. Savannah Stewart also ended the evening in double figures with 12 kills. Junior libero Jenna Hassell led the club in the defensive backcourt with 18 digs.
“We were able to maintain our intensity and fight for long periods of time tonight, which is something we have been focusing on,” South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. “Our team really came to battle tonight. We had Nikki Gittens come off the bench and have an impressive night for us. I think that was a spark for us in set one. Lindsay Schwartz also had an amazing night. I think that we had great plays from multiple people, which made it hard to defend us. North Texas is a strong blocking team, but our balanced attack allowed us to keep them off balance.”
True freshman Nikki Gittens came off the bench and provided the aforementioned spark for South Alabama with five kills and tied for a team-high with five block assists. Torlandria Jones also had five blocks for the Jaguars.
With the win, USA improves to 12-10 on the season and 5-3 in league play. The 12 wins for the Jaguars are the most for the program since recording 14 back during the 1995 season. The five conference victories are also just one shy of tying for the most in the program’s history.
North Texas (18-9, 4-4 SBC) also placed three players in double figures led by Carnae Dillard’s 18 kills. Courtney Windham and Kaci Eaton also registered 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Shelby Tamura chipped in with a match-high 19 digs, while Windham – who leads the Sun Belt in blocks – had three solo blocks and five block assists in the match.
The Jags will now travel to take on in-state rival Troy on Thursday night. First serve versus the Trojans is set for 7 p.m. at Sartain Hall. Live stats for both matches can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.
SET ONE: South Alabama 30, North Texas 28
Trailing by two (5-3) early on in the first set, South Alabama put together an 8-2 run to take a four-point advantage. USA began the run with five-straight points and received two kills apiece from Olivia Mohler and Waelter. Waelter’s second kill of the set gave the Jaguars an 11-7 lead.
Led by the play of Windham – who had eight kills in the opening set, the Mean Green began to chip away at the Jaguar lead, trimming the deficit to 14-13 following a kill from the junior middle blocker. USA extended the margin back out to three (17-14) four points later after another kill from Mohler, but North Texas answer again, this time with six unanswered points to take a 20-17 lead on a kill from Karissa Flack. Flack had a pair of kills and a block assists during the scoring spurt for UNT.
The Jags took advantage of a few unforced errors by the Mean Green and retook the lead, 21-20 on an attack error by the Mean Green. The rally was kept alive by several solid defensive plays by South Alabama.
From there, the two clubs would go into extra points. North Texas set one point away from taking the first frame (28-27) after back-to-back kills from Dillard, but Waelter slammed home one of her six kills in the set to tie it back up. USA then went up a point on a bad set from the Mean Green. Gittens attack then found the floor to clinch the 30-28 win for South Alabama.
Schwartz was also solid in the first set for the Jaguars as the senior had five kills on 10 attacks with no errors.
SET TWO: North Texas 25, South Alabama 20
Like the first set, the second was close throughout as neither team was able to gain much momentum early. With UNT holding an 11-10 advantage after a kill from Eaton, Schwartz sparked the Jaguar attack. The senior blasted two kills over the Jags’ next three points and USA took a four-point (15-11) lead after a Mean Green attack error.
With USA still leading by three three points later, North Texas pushed across six-straight points to retake the lead, 19-16. Dillard began the run for the Mean Green with back-to-back kills.
Waelter later cut the deficit to 20-19 with her ninth kill of the match, but UNT closed strong, picking up five of the final six points of the set to even the match at a set apiece with the 25-20 second-set victory.
North Texas, which entered the weekend leading the Sun Belt in blocks, rode its defense in the second set, posting two solo blocks and four block assists in the frame. The Mean Green’s final two points of the set came courtesy of a solo block and two block assists. UNT also posted a .400 hitting percentage in the set.
SET THREE: South Alabama 25, North Texas 23
South Alabama came out of the intermission and grabbed the momentum early in the third set, beginning the frame by pushing across seven of the first 10 points, including the first four. Mohler and Gittens teamed up to turn back a Mean Green attack to cap off the scoring and give USA the 7-3 lead.
UNT answered back with four of the next five points to cut the Jaguar lead to one (10-9), but came right back and quickly stretched the margin back out to five (15-10) after a block assists from by the trio of Schwartz, Jones and Stewart.
USA held the lead for much of the remainder of the set until Windham and Hanna Frost’s block assists tied the frame back up at 21-21.
South Alabama was able to take the lead for good and broke a 23-23 tie on a kill from Schwartz, her 11th of the match. The Jaguar defense clinched the set victory on the next point when the duo of Gittens and Mohler turned back another Mean Green attack.
After failing to record a block in the second set, the front line defense for the Jaguars was instrumental in the third set, posting nine block assists.
SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, North Texas 18
Riding the momentum of the two-point win in the third set, South Alabama got off to another strong start in the fourth frame, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. The balanced offensive effort helped USA take the five-point lead as four different players recorded a kill during the early going. Jones also dropped in an ace to cap off the run.
North Texas hung around and eventually narrowed the Jaguar lead to one (12-11) on a block assists from Windham and Eaton, but the Mean Green would get no closer as USA broke the set open with an 11-2 run over the next 13 points to take a double-digit lead (23-13). Schwartz spurred on the pivotal run as she posted two kills and a pair of blocks.
Jones sealed the match victory and the 25-18 fourth-set win with her sixth kill of the night.
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 moves to 6-15 in the all-time series versus North Texas. USA is also now 3-7 all-time in meetings in Mobile. The win is the first for the Jaguars over UNT since 2008, snapping a three-match skid in the series. The 12 wins are also the most for the Jaguars since the 1995 season where USA finished with a 14-12 record. The five Sun Belt Conference victories are also just one shy of tying the program mark. With her 14 kills and 13 digs, Melissa Waelter now has five double-doubles this season and nine for her career. The five block assists were a season-high for Nikki Gittens. Jenna Hassell also eclipsed the 1,100 dig mark for her career versus UNT with her 18 digs. She has 1,103 for her career. Olivia Mohler moved into a tie with former Jag Tonia Hatfield for ninth on South Alabama’s career total blocks list as she now has 250 for her career. Lindsay Schwartz also moved into third-place on the program’s career block assists chart, passing former Jag Angela Gattis. Schwartz now has 250 career block assists.
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