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

ATLANTA – Junior libero Jenna Hassell’s season-high 26 digs helped the University of South Alabama volleyball team even its record to 4-4 with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22) victory over Mercer Friday evening in the opening round of the Georgia State Invitational held at the GSU Sports Arena.

“It was a great win for us tonight,” South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  “We were able to fight from behind.  We were also able to keep the lead and finish.  Those are two things that we’ve been working on being able to do.  Jenna (Hassell) kept us in many of our rallies tonight, especially in the fourth set.  She really made some plays for us that won us that set.”

The 26-dig performance by Hassell also marked the third-most by a Jaguar in a four-set match.  Led by the play of Hassell in the back court, South Alabama held a 91-77 dig advantage in the match.

USA will return to action on Saturday with a pair of matches – vs. Samford (10 a.m. [CT]) and Georgia State (6 p.m. [CT]).  Live stats can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com.  

The Jaguars were led offensively for the fifth-straight match by true freshman Savannah Stewart.  The Ladera Ranch, Calif., native posted her second career double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs.  South Alabama’s Lindsay Schwartz (12) and Valerie Podczasy (11) also ended the night in double-digits.  Podczasy had entered the match with just nine kills on the season.  Katariina Kananen also had a double-double for USA – the 17th of her career – with 28 assists and 14 digs.

Mercer (2-3) had two players post double-double efforts in the loss.  Freshman outside hitter Molly Locke posted a team-high 15 kills and 13 digs, while senior opposite side hitter Jamie Duffy had 11 kills and 22 digs.  Senior Bear setter Monica Sanchez also carded 43 assists. While junior libero Emily Rochefort added 24 digs.

SET ONE: South Alabama 25, Mercer 22
South Alabama led by one (5-4) early in the opening set after a block assists from Olivia Mohler and Meghan Miller, but over the next seven points, the Bears were able to take control and put together a 6-1 run to take a four-point lead.  Locke had two kills during the Mercer scoring spurt and gave the Bears the 10-6 advantage when the freshman dropped in an ace.

Later in the set, with the Jaguars still trailing by four (16-12), Stewart provided a spark for USA when the freshman slammed home a one of her five kills in the set.  The Stewart kill ignited a run of six unanswered points for the Jags.  Stewart later capped off the scoring for South Alabama and put USA out in front, 18-16, with another put away.

Mercer would tie the contest back up two points later following a pair of unforced errors from the Jaguars, but down the stretch, the Bears would never be able to pull back ahead.  With the set tied at 22-22, South Alabama was able to capture the final three points and take the first set, 25-22.  Schwartz and Mohler had a kill apiece to break the tie.  The Bears then committed an attack error – one of their seven in the frame – to seal the three-point win for the Jags.

Hassell’s defense was key in the opening set, as she posted seven digs. As a team, USA also recorded 16 kills and hit .200.

SET TWO: South Alabama 25, Mercer 18
Tied at 7-7 early in the second set, South Alabama was able to break free first as the Jags capitalized on three unforced errors by the Bears and took a 12-8 lead following a kill from Schwartz.

Mercer answered back and trimmed the deficit to one (13-12) after three-straight kills from Locke, but the Jaguars would not let the Bears get any closer.

Podczasy – who had four of her kills in the frame – helped USA quickly extend the lead back out with a pair of kills.  Schwartz then gave South Alabama a 16-12 advantage with another kill.

From there, the Jaguars would maintain control.  With the 25-18 second-set victory, USA took a 2-0 lead in the match.

SET THREE: Mercer 25, South Alabama 19
The Bears held control for much of the first portion of the third set as they led by as much as two on several occasions.  Charlayna Braxton (three kills) and Locke (two kills) led the offensive attack, combining for five of Mercer’s first 10 points.

USA kept battling and tied the contest back up at 10-10 after kills from Amber Wyatt and Podczasy.

Over the next several points, the two clubs exchanged the lead back-and-forth until with the Jaguars leading by one (13-12), MU was able to reclaim the lead for good when the Bears were able to push across four consecutive points.  Madison Pestos and Jennifer Katona aided the Mercer run with a pair of block assists, the second of which gave Mercer a 16-13 advantage.

South Alabama wasn’t able to pull any closer the remainder of the set and the Bears closed strong, ending the frame on a 5-2 run.  With the 25-19 third-set win, Mercer cut the match deficit to one.

SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, Mercer 23
Riding the momentum of the previous set victory, Mercer kept control and jumped out to a 7-2 lead to begin the fourth set.  Duffy and Locke provided the offense for the Bears, combining for five of the club’s first nine points.

Trailing by six (10-4) four points later, the Jaguars attempted to claw their way back over the next several points, eventually trimming the deficit to two on three occasions over the next several points.  

With Mercer holding a 15-12 lead after a block from Sanchez and Katona, South Alabama settled down and answered back with a 7-2 run over the next nine points to retake control and the lead.  Over the Jaguars next nine point, USA turned to the duo of Kananen and Stewart – who posted all seven of the Jags’ points.  Stewart had four kills, while Kananen added three and at the end of the run, South Alabama held a two-point lead, 19-17.

Mercer would not go away though and following a block from Duffy and Katona, the Bears had pulled to within one (23-22), but after a Jaguar time out, USA sealed the win with kills from Schwartz and Mohler to take the set and the match, 25-22.

Hassell saved her best performance of the evening for the final set as she came up huge, recording 13 of her digs in the fourth.  USA held a 33-23 advantage in that category as a team in the set.    

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 3-1 win over Mercer on Friday, South Alabama improves to 3-2 in the all-time series and of 21-28-1 versus Atlantic Sun opponents…With her 15 kill, 10 dig performance against the Bears, Jaguar freshman Savannah Stewart recorded her second career double-double…It was also her fourth double-digit kill match and her third double-figure dig match of her career…Junior libero Jenna Hassell posted a season-best 26 digs versus the Bears…The 26 digs were also the third-most in program history by an individual in a four-set match…Hassell also moved into sixth on USA’s career dig list as she now has 912 for her career…The 11 kills by Valerie Podczasy were a season-best…Prior to Friday’s match, she had recorded just nine thus far this season…With her 28 assists and 14 digs, senior Jaguar setter Katariina Kananen has now registered 17 career double-doubles …With her four total blocks (one solo and three assist), senior middle blocker Olivia Mohler now has 203 total blocks for her career…She also moved into ninth place on the career block assists list with 185…She is just two shy of moving past former Jag Jennifer Autry (186) for eighth and five shy of passing Caryn Yonker (189) for seventh.

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