Match Notes - at Louisiana-Lafayette/vs. Georgia State (.pdf)

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball team will have an unusual schedule this weekend as the Jaguars will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday night and then return home to host Georgia State on Saturday.  

"Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off a great win in Jonesboro this weekend and is having a solid year," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  "Georgia State is an athletic team that has competed each night, but sits in a similar situation as us.  However, as I have told the team, it doesn't matter who is on the other side of the net.  We need to control what happens on our side of the net.  

"With the number of teams in our conference, this year each team has a couple of split weekends.  This will be our first split weekend with traveling to Lafayette then returning for a home match versus Georgia State.  With, Georgia State traveling from Troy I believe it's an even playing field and other then some minor adjustments in our schedule shouldn't be an issue."

First serve versus the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 6 p.m. at Earl K. Long Gym, while the match versus the Panthers is set for a 7 p.m. start at Jag Gym.  Saturday night's match is South Alabama's Dig Pink Night.  The Jaguars will be wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness and fans are encouraged to wear pink for the match.  South Alabama "Pink" t-shirts will be on sale, with proceeds going to the Mitchell Cancer Institute.  

Live stats at video will be available for both matches at www.USAJaguars.com.

The Jaguars (5-10, 0-5 SBC) enter action this week looking to snap a five-match skid and pick up their first league win of the season.  The five-match losing streak is a season long for the Jags. The 0-5 start to conference play is the first since USA began the 2009 season with a 0-5 mark in the Sun Belt.  Over the weekend, South Alabama dropped a pair of five-set decision on the road at Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe.

Offensively, USA continues to be led by outside hitter Mechell Daniel. The 6-3 outside hitter is currently tied for second in the league in points (4.32) and ranks third in both kills (3.73) and serving (0.32).  Daniel has now recorded 14 or more kills in nine-straight matches, and 17 or more in seven of those contests.  She had a pair of double-double performances this past weekend, registering 20 kills - her third 20 kill match of the season - and 13 digs versus the Warhawks on Sunday.  

Daniel has twice been named the SBC's Freshman of the Week, including receiving the honor on Tuesday.  Daniel's honor marks the first time in the program's history that South Alabama has had players earn a weekly award three times from the conference in the same season.  Daniel is also the first player in program history to earn multiple player of the week accolades.

Fellow freshman Jessica Lewis - who hadn't played since the opening weekend of the season - returned to action for the Jaguars this past weekend and had 11 kills off the bench on Sunday versus ULM.  Lewis second on the club with 2.90 kills per set.  Mallory Moore is also averaging over two kills per set at 2.29 after a 16-kill performance on Sunday.  

Junior middle blocker Amber Wyatt also enters SBC play this week after a solid weekend performance.  The Clanton, Ala., native twice set new career marks in blocks and on Sunday, became the first Jag this season to register a double-digit block tally as she had 10 total blocks - one solo and nine assists - versus ULM.  With that performance Wyatt moved into fourth in the conference in blocks with 1.05 per set.

Louisiana-Lafayette enters the Friday night match with a 12-7 overall record and a 2-3 mark in the Sun Belt Conference.  After dropping their first two league matches, the Ragin' Cajuns have won two of their last three, including a 3-0 sweep at Arkansas State on Sunday.  ULL is 3-1 this season at home.

During the non-conference season, the two clubs shared two common opponents, with both defeating Nicholls State in four sets and sweeping Jackson State on the road.  

Louisiana-Lafayette has four players averaging over two kills per set.  Senior outside hitter Lavinia Tataran paces the club with 2.82 per set (tied for ninth in the SBC), while Sara Mossakowski comes in at 2.40 kps.  Tonice White and Kaylee Nemeth round out the scoring with 2.25 and 2.23 kills per set, respectively.  Nemeth is hitting .243 and has been the top offensive performer throughout ULL's first five conference matches, averaging 2.64 kps.

The Ragin' Cajuns currently lead the Sun Belt in two different categories - serving and digs.  

As a team, ULL is averaging 1.34 aces per set.  Individually, three players for ULL rank in the top 10 serving.  Taylor Meade is second with 0.33 aces per set, while Mossakowski (0.32) is in a three-way tie for third and Andrea Hole (0.26) is ninth.

Louisiana-Lafayette comes into the week averaging 15.23 digs per set.  Junior libero Caitlyn Auxilien is fourth in the league in that same category with 4.31 per set.

ULL is also third in opponent's hitting percentage and assists and fourth in kills and assists.

Georgia State (5-14, 0-5 SBC), like the Jags enters play this week still in search of its first Sun Belt win of the season.  Dating back to the middle of September, GSU has lost seven-straight matches and 10 of its last 11 with the lone win during that stretch coming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

USA and GSU do share one common opponent during the non-conference portion of their schedules as both clubs fell in straight sets to Samford.

Dede Bohannon leads the Panthers on the offensive side of the net as she is averaging 2.74 kills, which ranks just outside of the top 10 of the league in that category.  Sophomore middle blocker Eliza Zachary is averaging 2.39 kps and red shirt middle blocker Kitan Ajanaku is averaging 2.08 kps.

Led by the play of Emily Averbeck, Georgia State is third in the conference in digs with 14.80 per set.  The senior libero is sixth in that category individually with 4.16 per set.  She also ranks seventh in the SBC in serving with 0.29 per set.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES:  The meeting between Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama this weekend will mark the 44th in the all-time series between the two clubs. ULL holds a 31-12 advantage in the all-time series, but USA has won three of the last four in the series, including last season's meeting, a 3-1 Jag victory in Lafayette, La.  The Jags are 2-15 versus the Ragin' Cajuns in all-time on the Cajuns' home court.  The meeting between Georgia State and South Alabama this weekend will mark the fourth in the all-time series between the two clubs. USA holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series and picked up last season's meeting, 3-2 in Atlanta at the Georgia State Invitational.

—USA—