Box Score - South Alabama 3, Nicholls State 0 (.pdf)Box Score - Memphis 3, South Alabama 0 (.pdf)STARKVILLE, Miss. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team split its final two matches of the Maroon Classic on Saturday, defeating Nicholls State 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-16) in the first match of the day, but falling 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) to Memphis at the Newell-Grissom Building.
Despite the loss in the final match, South Alabama still was able to post a 3-1 showing at the Maroon Classic.
"Coming into the non-conference portion of our schedule, I wanted us to find our identity and develop some chemistry, while improving each weekend," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "I think we accomplished that and built some confidence as we head into the start of conference play.
"Our focus heading into this past weekend was on our team defense. In our three wins, we were able to hold our opponents to a low hitting percentage and we point-scored at a percentage that we had targeted coming into those matches."
For their play over the weekend, Emily Hundt and Nikki Gittens were named to the Maroon Classic all-tournament squad.
With the non-conference portion of their schedule complete, the Jags (5-5) will now open up Sun Belt Conference play on Wednesday night when USA travels to take on Louisiana-Lafayette. First serve versus the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 6 p.m. at Earl K. Long Gym.
MATCH ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 3, NICHOLLS STATE 0South Alabama began the day by picking up its fifth-straight win with a straight-set defeat of Nicholls State.
Mallory Moore led USA offensively as she was one of two Jags to finish the match in double figures with 13 kills. Moore was extremely efficient as she led the club with a .545 hitting percentage, committing just one attack error in her 22 attempts. Redshirt sophomore Nikki Gittens was also solid as she had 11 kills and hit .471 in the match. Gittens and Moore also finished with five and four block assists, respectively.
Mechell Daniel just missed her third-straight double-double as the sophomore had nine kills and tied with Abby Baker for top team honors with 13 digs. Deanna Canfield also chipped in with 10 digs of her own as the Jaguars had 64 for the match.
NSU (3-5) was led by Kaci Eaton's 14 kills and Kali Schwartz's 11 kills.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, NICHOLLS STATE 17Nicholls State led early on in the opening set, but Daniel tied up the contest at 4-4 with a solo block and then gave USA the lead with a kill on the next point.
Still holding a one-point lead four points later, the Jaguars stretched their lead out to four (10-6) after kills from Moore and Symone Stephenson and an ace from Daniel.
NSU trimmed the deficit to 14-12 on a bad set by the Jags, but Emily Hundt dumped the ball over for a kill to ignite a 7-0 run for South Alabama and broke the frame open. Daniel capped off the run and put USA up 21-12 with her third kill of the first set.
From there, Nicholls never really threatened as Moore sealed the 25-17 win with her third kill of the day.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 26, NICHOLLS STATE 24USA led early on in the second set, but with the Jaguars holding an 11-10 advantage, Schwartz provided a spark for the Colonels as she ignited a 7-1 ruin with a kill and a pair of aces. Eaton later capped off the run and put NSU up 17-12 with her third and fourth kills of the frame.
Still trailing by four (19-15), Moore led a charge back for the Jags as she recorded three of the first four points for South Alabama during a 5-1 run. Gittens tied the frame up at 20-20 with her fifth kill of the set.
USA later held set-point at 24-21 after a pair of kills from Lewis, but Nicholls fought off three-straight set points and tied the set back up at 24-24 following two Jag attack errors.
Coming out of a time out though, South Alabama picked up the final two points of the set and took the 26-24 win after Gittens and Emma Anderson combined for a block.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, NICHOLLS STATE 16In the third and final set, South Alabama broke trailed 7-6, but took the lead for good as it rattled off seven unanswered points to go up 13-7. Moore continued to lead the offense during the pivotal run as she registered three kills and a block assists during that stretch.
NSU wasn't able to get any closer than four the rest of the way as USA eventually took the set and the match, 25-16.
Daniel and Moore each had five kills during the final frame to lead the way for the Jags in the third set.
MATCH TWO: MEMPHIS 3, SOUTH ALABAMA 0In the nightcap, Memphis hit .287 and snapped the Jaguars' five-match win streak with a straight-set victory.
USA struggled offensively in the match, committing 20 errors and hitting just .116. Jessica Lewis led the club in the loss with 13 kills and a .353 hitting percentage and also recorded 12 digs for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore libero Abby Baker led all players with 22 digs.
Memphis improved to 6-4 with the win and won all four of its matches at the Maroon Classic. The Tigers placed three players in double figures offensively led by Kate Gibson and Catlin Lilly, who each finished the match with 13 kills apiece. Gibson also chipped in with 12 digs and hit .333, while Lilly posted a .357 percentage.
Veronica Zimmerman also carded a double-double for UM with 33 assists and 13 digs.
SET ONE: MEMPHIS 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 16The Tigers were efficient in the opening set, committing just two attack errors in their 41 attempts for a .244 percentage, while USA had nine of its 20 attack errors in the first set.
Memphis grabbed the lead from the opening point on a kill by Gibson and never relinquished it. South Alabama was able to kept the deficit around three for the first half of the set, but leading 13-10, the Tigers pulled away with a run of five straight points to stretch their lead out to 18-10.
UM held the momentum from there and went on to take the early lead in the match with the 25-16 first-set victory.
SET TWO: MEMPHIS 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 16Once again, the Tigers were very efficient in the second set, posting 16 kills and just three attack errors for a match-best .317 hitting percentage. Gibson (6) and Lilly (5) led the way offensively for UM in the frame, combining for 11 kills.
Tied 4-4, Memphis grabbed the momentum with a quick four-point run and took an 8-4 lead on a Oluchi Agomuo put away.
Lewis tried to help the Jags hang around as she recorded seven of her kills in the set and hit .400, but USA could not draw any closer than three the rest of the way as the Tigers eventually went on to pick up the set with another 25-16 victory.
SET THREE: MEMPHIS 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17Memphis hit over .300 for the second-straight set as the Tigers hit .303 (14-4-33) in the third set. Lilly had another strong outing in the set as she had six kills on 10 attacks and just one error.
The Tigers took the lead for good early on in the third and final set as they broke a 3-3 tie and pushed their lead out to 9-5 on an ace from Zimmerman. UM continued to hold control the rest of the way and later clinched the match after a pair of Gibson kills.
NOTES: With the win versus Nicholls State, South Alabama improved to 18-14 in the all-time series versus the Colonels and have now won each of the last three meetings. The win versus the Colonels was also the fifth-straight on the season for the Jags – the most consecutive wins by USA since the 2009 season (9/12-9/19). The 13 kills by Mallory Moore against NSU were a season-high for the sophomore. Her .545 hitting percentage also tied for 16th-best in program history in a match during the Rally Era. The win by Memphis was the ninth-straight in the series for the Tigers. With her 13 kills and 12 digs, Jessica Lewis recorded her first double-double of the season versus Memphis.
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).
—USA—
