Match 19: at Arkansas State Match Notes (.pdf)Match 20: at Little Rock Match Notes (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team will head to the state of Arkansas this weekend for a pair of Sun Belt Conference matches. The Jaguars will open up with Sun Belt leader Arkansas State on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the Convocation Center. USA will then head to Little Rock on Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. match versus the Trojans at the Jack Stephens Center.
Live stats and web streaming for both matches can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-match updates by following action on the program's twitter account @USA_Jags_VB.
South Alabama (10-8, 4-3 SBC) enters play this week winners of three of its last four matches and five of its last seven after picking up a pair of league victories over the weekend. USA defeated UL Lafayette, 3-1 on Friday and then swept UL Monroe in straight sets on Saturday.
"Over the course of the last three weeks, we have seen our team's confidence grow," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "Physically, we are learning what we are capable of doing and learning how to perform to our potential each night we step on the floor. This past weekend, we saw more consistency in our performance as a whole. Our ball control was solid in serve-receive and defensive effort, which helped improve our offensive execution. Blocking is improving for us each week as well."
Mechell Daniel recorded double figures for the 17th time this season with 15 kills versus the Warhawks in her last outing, while the junior outside hitter also posted a .424 hitting percentage in the match.
Daniel leads the club with seven double-doubles on the year and ranks third in the Sun Belt offensively with 3.63 kills per set. In conference play, the Chelmsford, England, native has been even better, averaging 4.14 kps and is hitting .293.
Middle blocker Nikki Gittens is also coming off solid outing versus ULM as she had 10 kills on 16 attacks with no attack errors for a season-best .625 hitting percentage. Gittens is averaging 2.22 kills per set and hitting .276 this season.
Gittens along with fellow middle blocker Sara Richardson have been outstanding at the net defensively for the Jaguars this season. Gittens leads the club with 71 total blocks (0.97 bps), while Richardson is right behind her with 70 total blocks (0.96 bps). Coming into play this week, Richardson ranks among the conference leaders in hitting as her .329 attack percentage is sixth-highest in the SBC.
Sophomore setter Emma Anderson has climbed to fourth in the Sun Belt in assists, averaging 9.29 per set. She has six double-doubles in 2015.
As a team, South Alabama ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.210) and digs (15.36). Senior defensive specialist Emily Hundt has been instrumental in leading the Jaguar defense in the back row. The setter turned libero ranks ninth in the SBC in digs with 3.84. In league play, Hundt is averaging 4.93 digs per set. This past week, Hundt recorded a career-best 30 digs against UL Lafayette and averaged nearly six digs per set with 5.58.
Arkansas State enters play this week riding a 13-match win streak. The Red Wolves are 17-1 and 8-0 in Sun Belt Conference action and are currently ranked 18th nationally in the latest RPI poll. They are also receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll, coming in at 35th.
Over the weekend, ASU picked up a 3-0 victory at Georgia Southern, their 12th straight-set win of the season and fifth in league play.
The Red Wolves lead the Sun Belt in opponent's hitting percentage (.147) and digs (15.89), and rank second in the league in kills (14.00), assists (13.17) and hitting percentage (.268). ASU is 13th in the NCAA in the opponent's hitting percentage, 20th in hitting percentage and 26th in assists.
Offensively, Arkansas State has three players averaging over three kills per set. Carlisa May is fourth in the conference in that category with 3.60 per set. May has been selected as the league's top freshman six of seven weeks this season. Her .324 hitting percentage is also seventh-best in the SBC.
Sophomore middle blocker Drew Jones is sixth in the conference in kills (3.34) and redshirt-junior outside hitter Darby Graff is 10th in that category with 3.11 per set. Graff also ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in hitting percentage as he .338 hitting percentage is fourth.
Guiding the Red Wolves' offense is junior setter Mallory Warrington. Warrington's 11.36 assists per set average ranks second in the league and 14th nationally.
On the defensive side of the net, Kelsey Reis is third in the SBC in blocks (1.12) and libero Markie Schaedig is third in digs and 23rd in the NCAA with 5.11 per set.
Little Rock enters play this week with a 8-10 overall record and a 4-4 mark in league play. The Trojans snapped a four-match skid last weekend with a 3-1 victory at Georgia State on Sunday.
The Trojans were the preseason picks to retain the league title after recording a perfect 20-0 conference record last season, but against Texas State, Little Rock had a 26-match conference winning streak snapped, its first SBC loss since the 2013 season.
Edina Selimovic, the Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year, ranks in the top 10 in four different categories thus far this season. Selimovic is second in both hitting (.351) and blocks (1.16), eighth in kills (3.21) and 10th in serving (0.30). Selimovic has recorded double-digit kill tallies in 15 of her 18 matches.
Little Rock still ranks as one of the top defensive clubs in the Sun Belt. The Trojans lead the league in blocks with 2.58 per set and are fourth in opponent's hitting percentage, holding opponents to a .173 percentage.
The Trojans feature one of the top blocking duos in the country. Carolee Dillard's 1.21 blocks per set average is tops in the conference. The duo of Dillard and Selimovic is averaging a combined 2.37 blocks per set and in conference matches, they are averaging 2.82 per set.
Senior libero Priscilla Almeida, who transferred to Little Rock this season, has made an immediate impact on the Trojan roster. Almeida ranks second in the Sun Belt and 17th in the most recent NCAA rankings in digs per set with 5.18. Almeida has had six matches with 20 or more digs, including three with 34-plus. Almedia had 34 digs versus Appalachian State on Friday.
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).
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