Match Notes - at Middle Tennessee and at Western Kentucky (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team will face a pair of tough road tests this week as the Jaguars begin Sun Belt Conference play against Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.  

“Starting off the Sun Belt schedule playing Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky will be a great opportunity to immediately show us where we stand against those teams that are typically competing for the championship each year,” South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  “I fully expect our team to walk in both gyms looking to compete at a high level.”

Both programs were picked to finish in the top two of the East Division in the preseason poll.  USA will take on the Blue Raiders at 7 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Gym on Thursday and the Lady Toppers at 1 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday.

Live stats for both matches can be accessed at www.usajaguars.com.  Web streaming for the match versus MTSU will also be available.

The Jaguars come into their Sun Belt opener with a 7-7 overall mark.  This past weekend, USA recorded a 2-2 showing at the Springhill Suites Invitational, defeating both Jacksonville and Savannah State in straight sets, while dropping a pair of 3-1 matches to tourney host Georgia Southern and Wisconsin.

“We are excited and ready to compete,” Hendirchovsky stated.  “The team has worked hard through the preseason tournaments to improve and grow.  We have learned many things about our team and my hope is we continue to improve throughout conference play leading into the conference tournament.”

South Alabama continues to be led offensively by freshman outside hitter Savannah Stewart.  Stewart is averaging nearly three kills per set (2.98), while also ranking second on the club in digs with 2.75 per set.  Since the beginning of September, Stewart has been the leader on the court for the Jags as she has averaged 3.30 kills and 3.03 digs per set, while also registering a double-double in seven of those 10 matches.  She has also led the club in kills eight times.

Torlandria Jones has also played well lately.  Over the weekend, Jones hit .346 and had 25 kills to go along with her 10 blocks.  For her play, she was selected to the all-tournament team.  For the season, Jones is hitting .325 - which ranks seventh in the Sun Belt.  

The Jaguars continue to be anchored in the back court by junior libero Jenna Hassell.  The Niceville, Fla., native currently ranks fourth in the league in digs with 4.65 per set. This past weekend, she became just the sixth Jag to eclipse the 1,000 dig mark for her career and she now sits in fifth place on the career charts with 1,014.

Middle Tennessee comes into its conference opener versus the Jags with a 3-12 overall record and has lost its last nine matches, including three this past weekend to Louisville, Miami (Fla.) and UNLV at the Louisville Invitational.

The Blue Raiders are led offensively by the duo of Chelsea Ross and Ashley Adams as each are averaging nearly four kills per set.  Ross ranks second in the Sun Belt in that category with 3.93, while Adams is right behind her in third with 3.64 per set.  

On the defensive side of the net, two players rank among the league leaders in two different categories.  Redshirt freshman middle blocker Tyler Richardson is fourth in the conference in blocks with 1.15 per set, while freshman libero Bri McCombs is eighth in digs with 4.13.  

As a club, MTSU ranks third in the SBC in blocks with 2.25, but the Blue Raider opponents are hitting .234 against the team.  Middle Tennessee - which is usually one of the top teams in the Sun Belt in digs - ranks 11th in that category with 12.47.

Western Kentucky comes into Sun Belt Conference action this week as one of the hottest teams in the nation with a 13-3 overall record and ranked 24th in the nation in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.  Since dropping its first two matches of the season, the Lady Toppers have won 13 of their last 14, including all three of its matches this past weekend at the Coke/Michigan Invitational.  WKU holds a pair of victories over top 25 clubs this season, defeating 10th-ranked Dayton and 22nd-ranked Michigan.  The Toppers will take on Belmont (Sept. 18) and host Troy (Sept. 21) before welcoming the Jaguars to Bowling Green.

The Lady Toppers come into play this week led by Preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Jordyn Skinner.  Skinner has definitely lived up to the preseason billing as she leads the club with 3.26 kills per set - eighth best in the league.  She also ranks second on the team in digs with 2.88 per set.  Ashley Potts, the league’s preseason defensive player of the year, has also been stellar as she fifth in the SBC in digs with 4.60.  

As a team, WKU leads the conference in hitting (.268), kills (13.65) and assists (12.98).  Four players - Paige Wessel (.361 - 2nd), Melanie Stutsman (.330 - 6th), Heather Boyan (.322 - 8th and Haley Bodway (.279 - 10th) rank in the top 10 in the Sun Belt in hitting.   Stutsman - also a preseason all-SBC selection - leads all setters in assists.

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: South Alabama (7-7) is 5-16 in Sun Belt openers, having won its last two, and 4-14 in SBC road openers.  Freshman outside hitter Savannah Stewart has recorded a double-double in seven of her last 10 matches.  Coming into the match versus Middle Tennessee, senior middle blocker Olivia Mohler is just two block assists shy of moving into a tie for sixth place with former Jag Kim Dalton.  She has 201 for her career.  Before arriving at USA, Jaguar head coach Amy Hendrichovsky was an assistant in Murfreesboro for the previous six seasons and played collegiately at North Alabama under Blue Raider head coach Matt Peck.  Middle Tennessee has lost nine-straight matches coming into Thursday’s match.  The meeting between Middle Tennessee and South Alabama this week will mark the 18th in the all-time series between the two clubs. Middle Tennessee holds a 17-0 record in the all-time series. The two teams have met three other times, but those wins had to be vacated by the Blue Raiders as a result of NCAA penalties.  MTSU has won 10 of the last 11 meetings in straight sets.  Coming into play this week, Western Kentucky is two wins away from 700 all-time for the program.  Western Kentucky junior Melanie Stutsman was selected as the CVU.com National Player of the Week on Tuesday.  Both Jordyn Skinner and Ashley Potts took home the SBC Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week honors this week.  The meeting this weekend will mark the 46th between Western Kentucky and South Alabama. WKU holds a 36-9 lead all-time series. Dating back to 1989, USA has dropped 33 of the previous 35 meetings, including the last 24 - all but one of those in straight sets. South Alabama’s last win versus the Lady Toppers came back during the 1995 season when USA captured a 3-1 victory in Mobile. USA is just 2-16 all-time in Bowling Green, having lost the last 14 matches on the Toppers’ home court.  The Jaguars last victory in Bowling Green came back during the 1988 season.

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