Box Score - South Alabama 3, Louisiana Tech 1 (.pdf)

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team improved to 2-1 on the young season Saturday afternoon as the Jaguars defeated Louisiana Tech, 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16) at the Southern Miss Invitational held at the Reed Green Coliseum.  The win was the first for the Jags versus the Lady Techsters since the 2000 season.

“Against Louisiana Tech today, we were coming off a very emotional and good victory last night,” Hendrichovsky said.  “It wasn’t a very pretty match for us today.  (Louisiana Tech) was able to pick up a lot of balls and rallies were pretty long, but our girls fought and stayed composed throughout the match.”

USA will next head to St. Louis, Mo., to compete at the Active Ankle Challenge hosted by St. Louis.  The Jags will open up tournament action Friday at 4:30 p.m. when they take on Southern Illinois.  Louisiana Tech falls to 0-2 on the year with the loss.

For the second-straight match, Olivia Mohler led the way on both sides of the net as the Vancleave, Miss., native recorded 14 kills and five block assists.  Mohler was also extremely efficient at the net as she hit a .423.  Melissa Waelter (12) and Lindsay Schwartz (10) also tallied double-figure kill totals, while Torlandria Jones just missed double digits with nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.

Jag setter Katariina Kananen carded 39 assists and 16 digs to give the senior her 15th career double-double.  Junior libero Jenna Hassell added 15 digs of her own.

For their performances at the Southern Miss Invitational, both Mohler and Hassell were named to the all-tournament squad.  Mohler tied for the team lead with 32 kills and a 2.91 kills per set, while also hitting .443.  She was also a force at the net leading the team with 15 blocks (1.36 per set).  Hassell was just as solid on the defensive side of the net, averaging 4.27 digs per set in USA’s three matches.

Louisiana Tech was led offensively by Clara Vidro and Bridget Benditz who had 13 kills apiece.  Maria Coelho had a match-best 41 assists to go along with her 12 digs.  Tech libero Stephany Salas posted a match-high 24 digs in the loss.  

SET ONE: South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 18
In the opening set, South Alabama broke an early 2-2 tie with a run of six-straight points.  Jones began the scoring spurt for USA with a kill.  Louisiana Tech then committed five straight attack errors to aid the Jaguar run.  

Trailing 10-5 after a block assists from Mohler and Kananen, Louisiana Tech began to battle back, rattling off five of the next six points.  The Lady Techsters pulled to within one at 11-10 after Caitlin Germany and Maria Collins teamed up to turn back a Jaguar attack.  

With USA still holding a one-point two points later, Waelter provided a spark for South Alabama as the sophomore registered three-straight kills to extend the lead back out to 15-11.  

Louisiana Tech was able to pull within one three more times over the next few points, but the Jaguars wouldn’t let the Lady Techsters pull even.  Holding a 17-16 lead, USA put the set away and closed strong as they ended the frame on an 8-2 run.  Schwartz began the Jaguar run with a kill, and Waelter clinched the 25-18 victory with a kill of her own.  Mohler was also key during the pivotal run for South Alabama as she recorded a kill and two block assists.  

Waelter led the way offensively for USA in the opening set with four kills, while Schwartz and Jones added three of their own.

SET TWO: South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 23
With the second set tied 3-3 early on, Louisiana Tech was the first team to gain a little breathing room as the Techsters pushed across three-straight points.

USA kept trying to chip away, narrowing the deficit to one on several occasions.  South Alabama was finally able to go back out in front after Savannah Stewart dropped in an ace to give USA a 15-14 advantage.

 Over the next several points, neither team was able to break away until with the frame tied 21-21, USA pushed across three-straight points to sit one point away from taking the set.  Louisiana Tech made things interesting as Germany and Coelho posted kills to trim the Jag lead to one.  However, following a time out, Stewart sealed the 25-23 set two victory with her fourth kill of the frame.  Mohler and Waelter combined for 11 kills in the set as well.

SET THREE: Louisiana Tech 25, South Alabama 21
The two clubs kept things close early on in the third set.  Tied 7-7, Vidro’s two-straight put aways gave the Lady Techsters the lead, but USA later tied things back up and retook the lead (11-10) after a kill from Jones.  

Trailing 13-12, Louisiana Tech reeled off three straight points to reclaim the lead.  Benditz led the way as she recorded three of the Techsters’ next five points to put Louisiana Tech out in front 17-13.  Coelho also added a kill and a block assists during the scoring spurt.

USA was able to trim the deficit to 22-21 late in the frame, but Louisiana Tech would go on to record the final three points of the frame and pick up the set, 25-21  to cut the match lead for the Jags to 2-1.

SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, Louisiana Tech 16
After dropping the previous set, South Alabama wasted little time retaking control of the match in the fourth and final set.  With the frame tied up 4-4, USA capitalized on several Louisiana Tech errors to break the set open with a 10-2 run.  The Jaguars were able to take advantage of four attack errors, two serving errors and a ball handling error, which led to seven of South Alabama’s next 10 points.  

From that point on, Louisiana Tech was never able to threaten the Jags.  Mohler helped USA close strong as the senior middle blocker recorded three of the Jaguars’ final eight points with two kills and a block assist.  The Jag defense at the net clinched the set and the match victory as Jones and Waelter combined to turn back an attack from the Lady Techsters.

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 win versus Louisiana Tech on Saturday marked the first win for South Alabama over the Lady Techsters since the 2000 season…The victory was also just the second in 16 meetings in the series with Louisiana Tech and the second for South Alabama against an opponent from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC)…USA is now 2-26 against WAC opponents…The 2-1 start to the season is the best start for the Jags since beginning the 2009 season 3-0…Jag setter Katariina Kananen recorded her 15th career double-double with her 39 assists and 16 digs.

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