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

MOBILE, Ala. – True freshman Jessica Lewis nearly notched a double-double in her first collegiate game and sparked the University of South Alabama volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23) victory Friday night in its season-opener at the Jaguar Invitational held at Jag Gym.  Lewis finished the contest with 19 kills and nine digs, while registering a .317 attack percentage.

"Jessica has been that kind of player (throughout her career)," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  "It's not something we made.  She is very gifted and talented.  She's a very nice player all the way around.  She stays pretty consistent and is somebody that we will look to very much this season."

Lewis paced all players in the match with her offensive performance.  Nikki Gittens also finished the night in double figures with a career-best 10 kills for South Alabama (1-0).  Gittens – who also hit above .300 in the match with a .389 hitting percentage – had her 10 kills on 18 attempts and just one attack error.  As a team, the Jaguars posted a .316 hitting percentage in the win.

Deanna Canfield also nearly recorded a double-double with eight kills and nine digs, while freshman libero Abby Baker had 12 digs and four of the Jags' nine service aces.  

Emily Hundt had 46 assists for the Jaguars, while as a team, USA had 49 assists on its 52 kills.  The Jaguars also held a slim 49-46 advantage in digs, besting TSU 49-46 in that category.  

The Tigers (0-1) placed three players in double figures offensively led by Naomi Wells' 18 kills.  The TSU outside hitter also added 12 digs to give her a double-double.  Taylor Swayzer chipped in with 11 kills and Sherryce Butler had 10.

Tournament action resumes Saturday morning when Georgia Southern and Tennessee State face off at 10 a.m.  USA will return to action later in the day when the Jags take on Southern Utah at 12:30 p.m. and the Eagles at 7 p.m.   

"I think both Southern Utah and Georgia Southern have different strengths," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  "Southern Utah's strength is its size and block.  They didn't run it quite as balanced today, but I think they'll make some adjustments and come out ready tomorrow.  They're also still trying to figure out their lineup.  I think they will come out and give us a good battle.

"Georgia Southern has quite a bit of players returning.  You can tell they have chemistry.  They are a very disciplined team and their ball control keeps other teams off balance because they are able to run it from many different avenues."

SUU and TSU will also face each other at 4 p.m.

Live stats for all four matches can be accessed at www. USAJaguars.com. Video for South Alabama's matches on Saturday will also be available.

In the first match on Friday, Georgia Southern (1-0) was a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17) winner over Southern Utah (0-1).

SOUTH ALABAMA 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1

SET ONE: South Alabama 25, Tennessee State 15
The Jaguars began the 2013 campaign in grand fashion, opening up the match with 7-0 run.  Canfield ignited the scoring with one of her two kills during the spurt.  A second Tiger attack error capped off the scoring to give USA the seven-point advantage.

"I wasn't really sure what we would get nerve-wise tonight, but I thought our team came out very focused and composed and did a good job at the start of the match," Hendrichovsky said of the quick start.  "You could tell they were really excited about getting on the floor tonight.  We had a nice crowd and I think that helped, but they handled themselves very well."

After getting off to the strong start, South Alabama continued to hold the momentum.  USA took its first double-digit lead later in the set after another TSU attack error and then grabbed its largest advantage at 11 (21-10) after back-to-back kills from the freshmen duo of Lewis and Mechell Daniel.

Stephenson sealed the 25-15 victory after the Plano, Texas native slammed home her third kill of the night.  

Canfield and Lewis led the way offensively for the Jags in the opening set with four kills apiece.  South Alabama was outstanding offensively, posting a .538 hitting percentage with 15 kills on 26 attacks and just one error.  Hundt was credited with 14 assists in the first set.

Wells had four kills for Tennessee State, as the Tigers managed to hit .200 with six errors.  

SET TWO: Tennessee State 25, South Alabama 22
TSU picked up the first two points of the second set and managed to hold the lead the rest of the frame.  The Tigers – who hit better in the second set with a .395 attack percentage – eventually stretched their lead out to as much as five times over the next several points, the last coming at 13-8 after a kill from Wells.  Wells led Tennessee State offensively in the set with six more kills, but the Jags began to chip away at the deficit, getting as close as one on two occasions.  

Gittens trimmed the Tiger lead to 21-20 with one of her four kills in the set, but TSU came right back and pushed across three-straight points to sit one point away from evening the match.

South Alabama fought off a pair of set points, but could pull no closer as Swayzer sealed the win 25-22 win for TSU with a kill of her own.

SET THREE: South Alabama 25, Tennessee State 17
Coming out of the intermission, TSU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but the  Jags answer right back with 5-1 run over next six points to take a one-point lead.  Lewis added two more kills during the run and Hundt capped off Jaguar run when she out-muscled a Tiger player for a kill of her own to put USA out in front 5-4.  

The two clubs stayed close over the next several points, but with the set tied at 12, the Jaguars rattled off another 5-1 spurt to break things open and take the lead for good.  

Lewis came alive down the stretch for the Jags as the freshman posted three of her five kills in the third set.  USA later extended its lead out to as much as eight (24-16) before taking the set two points later on another clinching-kill by Stephenson.  

South Alabama found its touch again offensively, registering a .393 hitting percentage with 15 kills on 28 attack and four errors.  Wells, who had had 10 kills over the first two sets, was held to just two put aways in the third set.   

 SET FOUR: South Alabama 25, Tennessee State 23
In the fourth and final set, Tennessee State again jumped out to an early lead.  Holding a three-point advantage at 7-4, South Alabama came right back and grabbed the lead with a 6-0 run.  USA took advantage of three TSU errors during the string of unanswered points and Gittens dropped in a pair of aces, while Lewis finished it off with her 15th kill of the match.  Lewis' kill put USA out in front 10-7, but the Tigers, came right back with three consecutive points of their own to tie the fame back up at 10-10.

The two clubs remained close for the remainder of the set, with neither able to gain more than a two-point advantage.  With the set tied at 23-23, the Jaguars completed the victory after kills from Lewis and Stephenson, giving USA the 25-23 set-victory and the match.

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:  South Alabama improves to 2-0 in the all-time series versus Tennessee State and is now 9-6 against opponents from the Ohio Valley Conference…USA is also now 13-26 all-time in its season-opening matches…The Jaguars are 22-17 in their home openers and have won four-straight.

—USA—