Matches 25 and 26 - vs. Texas-Arlington and vs. Georgia State Matche Notes (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball team close out the home portion of its 2013 schedule this weekend when the Jaguars welcome Texas-Arlington and Louisiana-Monroe to Jag Gym.
USA will take on the Mavericks on Friday at 4 p.m. and then face the Warhawks on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats and video for both matches will be available at www.USAJaguars.com.
The Jaguars (11-13, 6-8 SBC) enter the weekend looking to move even closer to securing a spot in this year's conference tournament. Following Wednesday night's 3-1 victory over Troy, the Jaguars move into a tie with Arkansas State for the sixth seed.
USA has played well of late, winning four of its last five matches and six of its last nine. With two weeks left in the regular season, the Jags hold a two-and-a-half game advantage over Georgia State, who sits in the eight spot coming into the weekend. South Alabama is also just two matches in the win column behind Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State and Texas-Arlington who sit in a three-way tie for the third seed.
Offensively the freshman duo of Mechell Daniel and Jessica Lewis continues to pace the club. Daniel is coming off a career-high 28-kill performance against Troy on Wednesday. The opposite side/outside hitter committed just four attack errors in her 60 attempts and finished with a .400 hitting percentage. The 28 kills were the most by a Jag in a match since the 2001 season.
Daniel – who picked up her third SBC Freshman of the Week honor on Monday – ranks third in the conference in both kills (3.84) and points (4.38) and fifth in aces (0.28). Daniel is also second on the team in digs with 2.51 dps and has 10 double-doubles this season, nine of which have come against league competition.
Lewis – also a three-time SBC Freshman of the Week honoree this season – is close behind Daniel as she is tied for fifth in both kills (3.30) and points (3.61).
Junior middle blocker Amber Wyatt has also played well at the net for the Jaguars this season. She has 91 total blocks – 10 solo and 81 assists – and ranks third in the conference with 1.25 bps. She had 10 blocks versus Troy.
As a team, the Jaguars are fourth in the Sun Belt in both blocks (2.09) and hitting (.213) and fifth in kills (12.70) and assists (11.84).
Texas-Arlington enters play this week with a 15-12 overall mark and an 8-6 record in the league. UTA has lost its last three contests though with two of those losses coming in straight sets to Western Kentucky and at Texas State, while also falling in five at home to Georgia State.
The Mavericks picked up a 3-0 win over the Jaguars in Arlington three weeks ago. The win began a streak of four-staight wins for UTA before the recent skid.
Texas-Arlington won the earlier meeting with the Jags in straight set (25-21, 25-16, 25-22) in Arlington.
"We didn't show UTA much of what we have when we played them earlier this season," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "It was probably one of our not-so-good performances of the year. They are a very good team and have very well-skilled players with a good volleyball IQ, so credit to them. I thought they played us well in our earlier match and hopefully our team will be able to respond to the challenge and show them a better match here at home."
Offensively, Texas-Arlington is led by Shelby Dickson and Taylor Gross. Both players are averaging two kills per set. Dickson paces the squad with 281 kills and a 2.78 kills per set average, while Gross has 206 kills and 2.00 kps. Gross ranks sixth in the Sun Belt with a .293 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 but also the league at the net as her 1.66 blocks per set are most in the Sun Belt. Whitmore is second nationally in that category entering play this week. The Fort Smith, Ark., native has 158 total blocks - 14 solo and 144 assists.
As a team, Texas-Arlington leads the conference in blocks and ranks 23rd in the NCAA. Gross - who is fourth in the SBC - is averaging 1.09 bps, while Ashley Bennett is right behind her with 0.95 per set.
In the back court, sophomore libero Caitlyn Cooney is fourth in the conference in digs with 4.50 per set.
Louisiana-Monroe comes into play this weekend with a 6-24 overall record and a 2-12 mark in the Sun Belt. Coming into action this week, the Warhawks have lost eight of their last nine matches. The lone win during that stretch was a 3-2 defeat of Troy in which ULM dropped the first two sets. The only other conference win this season for the club came against the Jaguars in five sets.
"Louisiana-Monroe took us to five sets in their gym and were able to pick up the match," Hendrichovsky said. "They are in a similar position to us in the fact that they are young and have a new coach. I look for our team to try and avenge our earlier loss to them."
ULM is just 1-12 in road matches this season, including 0-7 in road Sun Belt matches. The Warhawks have won just two sets in those seven league road matches.
Three players are averaging over two kills per set this season. Freshman outside hitter Hadley Schwartz leads the team with 273 kills and a 2.62 kills per set average. Hope Pawlik is behind Schwartz with 2.34 kps and Bianca Ocana is third on the club with 2.25 kps.
In league play, the trio is averaging three kills per set or just below. Ocana has been the top offensive player in SBC action for the Warhawks as she has a 3.00 kps average. Swartz had 15 kills in the first meeting with South Alabama, while Pawlik had 14 of her own in the contest.
Defensively, junior libero Marcela Araya has been the anchor in the back court for ULM. She currently ranks fifth in the conference in digs with 4.46 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 Texas-Arlington and South Alabama this weekend will mark the third in the all-time series between the two clubs. UTA holds a 2-0 lead in the series, picking up a 3-0 victory over the Jags earlier this season in Arlington. This will be the first meeting in the series in Mobile. The meeting between Louisiana-Monroe and South Alabama this weekend will mark the 14th in the all-time series between the two clubs. USA holds a slim 7-6 advantage in the series. ULM snapped a six-match win-streak by the Jaguars in the earlier meeting this season, taking a 3-2 victory in Monroe. USA is 4-0 in the series versus the Warhawks in Mobile.
—USA—
