Match 29 - vs. (4) Texas-Arlington - Quarterfinals - Sun Belt Championship Notes (.pdf)
Tournament Centeral
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball team, seeded fifth will open up postseason play on Thursday when the Jaguars take on fourth-seeded Texas-Arlington in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championships held at Trojan Arena. Troy University is serving as the host of this year's league tournament.
Live stats and video for all tournament matches will be available at both www.USAJaguars.com and www.sunbeltsports.org. The winner of Thursday's match between the Jaguars and the Mavericks will advance to take on the winner of the top-seeded Western Kentucky/eighth-seeded Troy match. The semifinal match is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The tournament appearance will be the first in three seasons for the Jags with only one player on the roster having played in the league championship event.
"I think it's very good for our team to get the experience of playing in the Sun Belt tournament and I'm excited for our players," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "It's a special occasion and not everyone gets to go to the conference tournament. On the other hand, I feel we have a group of young ladies that have all been competing for championships before at other levels, so I don't think that's anything out of the ordinary for them. This is something that they are familiar with. We're just going to try to focus on it like any other match."
An adult three-day pass for the Sun Belt tournament is available for $20.00, while adult single day tickets available for $10.00. A three-day pass for youth (2-12) can be purchased for $10.00, while single-day passes are $5.00. All Sun Belt Conference students will be admitted free with a valid School I.D. Doors will open to the general public one hour prior to the start of the first match of each day.
Dating back to the 1994 tournament, the Jaguars have been seeded fifth two other times coming into this year's league championship, South Alabama was the fifth in the west division back during the 2000 tourney and fifth overall during the 1995 tournament. USA holds a 1-2 all-time record as the fifth seed after posting a 0-1 mark in the 2000 tournament and a 1-1 record in the 1995 tournament. Prior to the 1992 season, the Sun Belt used a round-robin format and did not seed teams.
The Jaguars (14-14, 9-9 SBC) enter their first postseason event since 2010 as one of the hotter teams in the Sun Belt Conference. USA posted a 7-2 mark in its final nine league matches, second only to top-seeded Western Kentucky during that span.
"The conference has had a lot of parity this season," Hendrichovsky said. "It's been very competitive from top to bottom. I'm very proud of our team for the fact that we were able to win seven out of nine at the end. We'd like to carry that momentum."
After opening up the SBC schedule 0-5, South Alabama reeled off wins in nine of their next 13 matches.
Offensively, by the duo of Mechell Daniel and Jessica Lewis, which have taken home a combined eight SBC Freshman of the Week honors this season. Daniel was also named the league's offensive player of the week on Nov. 11.
Daniel has 411 kills this season - the most ever by a freshman at USA and the seventh most for a single season. She has posted 14 double-doubles with 13 of those coming against Sun Belt competition. She ranks third in the conference in both kills (3.81) and points (4.33) per set. Daniel has led the Jags in kills 18 times and recorded double-figure tallies in 23 matches. She is second on the squad in digs with 2.56 per set.
Lewis also ranks among the league leaders in kills and points. Coming into the postseason, the Huntsville, Ala., native is fifth in points with 3.78 per set and sixth in kills with 3.38. Lewis has led USA in kills on 10 occasions this season and posted double figures in that category in 16 of her 18 matches played.
Fellow freshman Mallory Moore has also had a solid season as she is averaging 2.31 kps.
Defensively, the duo of Amber Wyatt (1.17 bps) and Symone Stephenson (0.85 bps) have been outstanding at the net. Wyatt is third in the SBC in that category.
Texas-Arlington holds a 2-1 lead in the series. The two clubs split the two meetings this season with UTA picking up a 3-0 victory over the Jags earlier this season in Arlington. In the second meeting, South Alabama won 3-1 in Mobile.
UTA (17-14, 10-8 SBC) enters the conference tournament as the four seed. The Mavericks snapped a five-match skid this past weekend with a 3-1 win our Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and a 3-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday. Prior to the two wins, the Mavericks had dropped matches to Troy, South Alabama, Western Kentucky, Georgia State and Texas State.
Offensively, Texas-Arlington is led by Shelby Dickson and Taylor Gross. Both players are averaging two kills per set. Dickson paces the squad with 311 kills and a 2.61 kills per set average, while Gross has 251 kills and 2.07 kps. Gross ranks eighth in the Sun Belt with a .289 hitting percentage.
On the defensive side of the net, 6-1 senior middle blocker Charmaine Whitmore has been outstanding four UTA. She not only leads the Mavericks and the league at the net, but in the final regular season rankings, her 1.80 blocks per set are the most in the NCAA. The Fort Smith, Ark., native has 202 total blocks - 21 solo and 181 assists. Whitmore had 14 total blocks in the last meeting with the Jags.
As a team, Texas-Arlington leads the conference in blocks and ranks 11th in the NCAA in blocks (2.88). Gross - who is fourth in the SBC - is averaging 1.12 bps, while Ashley Bennett is right behind her with 0.95 per set.
Hendrichovsky believes how the Jaguars handle UTA's play at the net will be key in the match.
"We had a tough test at the net against Georgia State (on Sunday)," Hendrichovsky noted. "Like UTA, they have a very physical presence at the net. I think we have to keep the same type of mentality and approach that we have against any other team. Our game can't change because of who's on the other side of the net. We have to control our side. A lot of it will be on our first contact and how we handle that. I want our attackers to keep the same mentality that they've had. We've played many teams that have a physical presence on the other side of the net. We compete against ourselves every day in practice and we're third in the conference (in league play) in blocking. So it's not something we haven't seen throughout the year."
Sophomore libero Caitlyn Cooney is fifth in the conference in digs with 4.52 per set.
VERSUS THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
vs. No. 1 Western Kentucky
- Western Kentucky holds a 40-9 lead all-time series. Dating back to 1989, USA has dropped 37 of the previous 38 meetings, including the last 28. However, in their last meeting on Nov. 15, USA nearly defeated the Toppers, as the Jags fell in five. The first-set win was the first set South Alabama has taken off WKU in the series since the 1999 season, snapping a string of 62-straight sets won by the Toppers against the Jags. The match also marked the first time in 14 years that USA has taken two sets off of the Toppers in a match. South Alabama's last win versus the Lady Toppers came back during the 1995 season when USA captured a 3-1 victory in Mobile.
WKU and USA have met five times in the league tournament (1990, 1989, 1985, 1984 and 1983) with the Toppers holding a 4-1 advantage. The Jags' lone victory came during the 1984 tournament.
vs. No. 2 Arkansas-Little Rock
- Arkansas-Little Rock holds a 24-3 advantage in the series. The Trojans have taken 25 of the previous 27 meetings. UALR swept both meetings this season, defeating the Jags 3-1 in Mobile and sweeping USA 3-0 in Little Rock in the second meeting.
The Trojans and USA have met once (2001) in the conference tournament with the Trojans winning that meeting, 3-0.
vs. No. 3 Texas State
- South Alabama and Texas State met for the first time this season and split those two meetings. The Bobcats picked up a five-set win in San Marcos in the first meeting. Five days later, the Jaguars bounced back with a five-set victory of their own in Mobile.
This is Texas State's first season in the Sun Belt. The two clubs have never met in the conference tournament.
vs. No. 4 Texas-Arlington
- Texas-Arlington holds a 2-1 lead in the series. The two clubs split the two meetings this season with UTA picking up a 3-0 victory over the Jags earlier this season in Arlington. In the second meeting, South Alabama won 3-1 in Mobile.
This is Texas-Arlington's first season in the Sun Belt. The two clubs have never met in the conference tournament.
vs. No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette
- Louisiana-Lafayette holds a 31-14 advantage in the all-time series, but USA has won five of the last six in the series, including a pair of 3-1 victories earlier this season.
The Ragin' Cajuns and the Jaguars have never met in the Sun Belt Tournament.
vs. No. 7 Arkansas State
- Arkansas State holds a 24-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two clubs. The Red Wolves have won seven of the last nine meetings in the series. USA and ASU split the two meetings this season with the Red Wolves picking up a five-set win in Jonesboro and the Jags winning in straight sets in Mobile in the second meeting. The win was the first for the program since the 2010 season.
USA and ASU have met one time (1998) in the SBC tournament with the Red Wolves taking that match in straight sets, 3-0.
vs. No. 8 Troy
- South Alabama holds a 38-24 lead in the all-time series and has won four of the last six meetings. Troy won the first meeting this season in Mobile, 3-0, while USA won the rematch, 3-1, in Troy.
The Trojans and the Jaguars have never met in the Sun Belt Tournament.
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: Thursday's meeting versus Texas-Arlington will be the fourth in the all-time series. UTA holds a 2-1 advantage in those meetings, but the two clubs split the two meetings this season with both winning on their home floors. The two clubs have never met in the postseason. The tournament appearance will be the 17th overall for the Jags and the first since 2010. USA holds a 10-30 all-time tournament record. Dating back to the 1994 tournament, the Jaguars have been seeded fifth two other times coming into this year's league championship, South Alabama was the fifth in the west division back during the 2000 tourney and fifth overall during the 1995 tournament. USA holds a 1-2 all-time record as the fifth seed after posting a 0-1 mark in the 2000 tournament and a 1-1 record in the 1995 tournament. Prior to the 1992 season, the Sun Belt used a round-robin format and did not seed teams.
—USA—
