Hampton Inn Bama Bash Tournament Notes (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball team will compete in the second of its three non-conference tournaments this weekend when the Jaguars head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to participate in the Hampton Inn Bama Bash hosted by Alabama at Foster Auditorium.
USA will open up tournament play on Friday with a pair of matches, taking on Tennessee-Martin at 9 a.m. and Nicholls State at 4:30 p.m. The Jaguars will face the Crimson Tide on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Live stats for all three matches and video for Saturday's match versus Alabama can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com on the team's schedule page.
Like last weekend, the tournament field will provide a challenge for South Alabama, but Jaguar head coach Amy Hendrichovsky hopes that the previous tournament experience will help her club.
"Moving into the third weekend of the preseason, the team will face three different opponents," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "Right now, we will continue to remind our team it doesn't matter who is on the other side of the net. Our success is dependent on our ability to handle the ball on our side of the net and put pressure on our opponents. With playing three solid opponents this past weekend, I know our team learned some valuable lessons and we will be a better team this weekend because of it."
The Jaguars (2-4) come into the Hampton Inn Bama Bash looking to snap a four-match losing skid. This past weekend at the Lipscomb Invitational, South Alabama fell 3-1 to Jacksonville State and 3-0 to both Samford and the host Lady Bisons.
At the LU tournament, USA was without its top offensive weapon, freshman outside hitter Jessica Lewis (4.36 kps).
Fellow freshman Mechell Daniel is second on the Jaguar squad with 2.24 kills per set. The Chelmsford, England, native has 47 on the year. Daniel has been a force behind the service line as she is tied with Louisiana-Monroe's Hadley Swartz for sixth in the conference in aces with 0.33 per set. She has a team-best seven for USA this season.
USA middle blocker Symone Stephenson has also played well this season. Her 40 kills are third-most on the team (1.90 kps) and her .316 attack percentage not only leads the Jags, but is fifth in the latest SBC rankings. Over the weekend, Stephenson recorded 17 kills and led the team with nine block assists, earning her all-tournament honors - her second time to do so this season. Stephenson leads South Alabama at the net with 14 block assists this season.
There are a couple of key stats for the Jags in wins and losses this season. In wins, USA is averaging 13.57 kps and hitting .295, while in losses, its averaging 10.29 kps and hitting .135. Opponents also hold a 4.50+ kills and digs per set advantage over South Alabama in Jag losses.
Tennessee-Martin enters tournament action this weekend with an impressive 6-2 record this fall. Over the weekend, the Skyhawks took three out of four at the Country Inn and Suites Invitational, picking up wins over Charlotte, UNC Asheville and Chattanooga, while falling 3-1 to Tennessee.
For their play, UTM setter Amanda Crask and outside hitter Emily Keaton were named to the all-tournament team. Cask - who is averaging 10.22 assists per set - was named OVC Setter of the Week after the first weekend of the season.
Keaton paces the club with 102 kills and a 3.19 kills per set average, which ranks ninth in the Ohio Valley. The 6-1 junior is also hitting .245 and averaging 2.56 digs per set.
The Skyhawks also have four more players averaging at least two kills or more - Allie Whimpey (2.53), Crask (2.25), Lynsey Hazelwood (2.13) and Julia Devinney (2.06). Devinney leads the team at the net with 25 total blocks.
Sophomore libero Chelsea Bowles shared OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors during the first week of the season and was named MVP of the CEFCU Classic hosted by Bradley University. Bowles leads the league in digs with 5.50 dps - 13th in the latest NCAA rankings.
UTM leads the OVC in kills (14.12), assists (13.34) and digs (17.09), while the club's 1.59 aces per set average is third-best amongst the conference. The Skyhawks also rank 36th, 26th and 21st nationally as a team in kills, assists and digs.
Nicholls State, the Jaguars' second opponent on Friday, is 2-4 this season with its wins coming versus Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State.
Over the weekend, the Colonels went 1-2 at the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic, hosted by fellow Sun Belt member Louisiana-Lafayette. NSU fell 3-1 to the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday.
Offensively, Kayla Burling leads the club with 60 kills and a 3.00 kps average. The freshman outside hitter also ranks second on the Colonels' roster in digs with 2.05 per set. Kayla Mashburn is close behind Burling with 56 kills and a 2.80 kps average. Burling and Mashburn rank ninth and 12th, respectively, in the SLC in kills.
Junior libero Kaylnn Egea paces the club in digs with 3.33 per set. She was named to the all-tournament squad at the ULL tourney over the weekend.
As a team, Nicholls State is averaging just 10.6 kills per set and 11.7 digs., but do rank third in the Southland Conference in service aces with 1.95 per set - 12th-best in the NCAA. Burling leads the conference in aces with 20 (0.65 per set), which is also 12th in the NCAA.
Alabama enters its home tournament with a 4-2 mark on the year. The Crimson Tide took two of three matches over the weekend at the FIU Classic in Miami, Fla., Bama dropped the first match of the tourney to Houston Baptist, but bounced back to take the next two - a straight-set victory over former Sun Belt member Florida International and a five-set win over UNC-Wilmington on Saturday.
On the offensive side of the net, the trio of Laura Steiner, Krystal Rivers and Brittany Thomas, lead the team. Both Steiner (3.45) and Rivers (3.41) are averaging over three kills per set - 13th and 14th, respectively in the SEC. Thomas is just outside that mark at 2.95 per set.
Rivers has 75 kills on 126 attacks this season and has committed just 18 errors in six matches for a .452 hitting percentage - third-best in the SEC and 19th nationally.
Thomas has also been a contributor on defense as she ranks third on Bama's roster with 2.41 digs per set.
As a team, the Crimson Tide are averaging 13.82 kills per set and have a .263 hitting percentage. UA is also averaging 14.23 digs per set and 1.50 blocks.
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 South Alabama and Tennessee-Martin will be the third in the all-time series between the two clubs. The Jags and the Skyhawks are currently tied 1-1 in the series. The last meeting in the series between USA and UTM came back during the 2009 season where the Jaguars picked up a 3-1 victory in Ruston, La. The Jaguars are 9-6 all-time versus Ohio Valley members and are 1-1 this season, holding a 3-1 victory over Tennessee State at the Jaguar Invitational, but a 3-1 loss to Jacksonville State at the Lipscomb Invitational. The meeting between South Alabama and Nicholls State will be the 23rd between the two clubs. USA holds a 18-14 lead in the all-time series after picking up a 3-0 victory last season in Mobile. The Jaguars are 48-98 all-time versus Southland opponents and went 1-1 versus the league a season ago. The meeting between South Alabama and Alabama will be the 27th between the two programs. The Crimson Tide holds a 22-4 advantage in the all-time series. The match will be the first between the two clubs in the series since the 2005 season, where Alabama defeated the Jags 3-0 in Mobile. The meeting will also be the 103rd time the Jaguars have faced an opponent from the Southeastern Conference, but the first since 2009 when USA lost 3-0 to Georgia. USA is 29-73 all-time versus the league. The Jags last victory versus a team from the SEC came back during the 2005 season when USA defeated Ole Miss (3-1) in Mobile. The Jags will face Arkansas on Sept. 21 at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
—USA—
