Matches 17-18: vs. UL Lafayette and UL Monroe match notes (.pdf)MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team returns home this weekend to host a pair of Sun Belt Conference matches. USA will open the two-match homestand on Friday versus UL Lafayette and then welcome UL Monroe on Saturday. First serve for both matches is set for 6:30 p.m. at Jag Gym.
"Every Sun Belt match is important, but these two matches are very important because we only play them once this season," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We know these two teams will bring their best game and we will prepare to bring ours as well. This weekend is parent's weekend; it will be great to have our friends and family there to support."
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 (8-8, 2-3 SBC) returns home this weekend after falling 3-2 at Troy on Tuesday night. Leading by two late in the fifth set, the Trojans closed out the match on a 6-1 run to pick up the win.
While the kill totals were pretty even between the two clubs in the match, USA did struggle to find its consistency on the offensive side of the net, recording a season-low .116 hitting percentage. Improvement in the offensive execution will be key for the Jaguars this weekend.
"The key for us to be successful is improving the execution of our offense from our last match," Hendrichovsky said. "There're many important factors that coincide with performing what we have discussed. We are competing and fighting, but if we control our side of the net the game easily takes care of itself."
Mechell Daniel registered her seventh double-double of the season and the 35th of her career with a match-high 17 kills to go along with 13 digs. Daniel currently ranks third in the SBC offensively with 3.53 kills per set. The junior opposite side hitter has a team-best 233 kills and is also averaging 2.26 digs per set to go along with her 37 blocks. Over her last three matches, Daniel has averaged 3.67 kps and 3.40 dps and registered a double-double in each of those matches.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Nikki Gittens nearly recorded the first double-double of her career versus the Trojans, finishing with 12 kills and nine block assists. Gittens is now averaging 2.20 kills per set and hitting .264. With her nine-block performance, she has now moved into the team lead in that category with 66. She is also ninth in the Sun Belt in blocks averaging 1.00 per set.
Fellow middle blocker Sara Richardson is close behind her with 62 total blocks and a 0.94 bps average. Richardson also ranks sixth in the conference in hitting percentage with .338.
Senior defensive specialist Emily Hundt also continued her impressive play as of late in the back court as she set a new career-best in digs for the third-straight match. Hundt led all players with 26 digs on Tuesday night at Troy. She as recorded 20 or more digs in each of those matches and is averaging 4.73 dps during that time. In her five conference matches, Hundt has averaged 4.62 digs per set. Entering play this weekend, Hundt's 3.62 digs-per-set average is ninth-best in the league.
UL Lafayette enters the match with a 5-13 overall mark and a 1-5 record in the Sun Belt. The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off their first conference win of the season as they rallied back to pick up a 3-2 victory at UL Monroe on Wednesday night. ULL dropped the first two sets to the Warhawks, but evened the match with wins in sets three and four and completed the comeback with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set.
Offensively, UL Lafayette is led by junior middle blocker Chanelle Gardner and senior outside hitter Sara Mossakowski. Gardner is averaging 2.45 kills per set, while Mossakowski is close behind with 2.44 kps. Gardner also leads the club at the net with 51 total blocks. Gardner had nine blocks and four total blocks versus ULM in her last outing.
In the back court, freshman libero Sydney Davis leads the club and currently ranks 10th in the SBC in digs with 3.20 per set.
As a team, ULL is 11th in the league in blocks, but on Wednesday recorded a season-high 15 blocks, which helped key its rally. The Ragin' Cajuns had 10 over the final three sets, which allowed them to hold the Warhawks to a .100 hitting percentage during that time and rally back.
UL Monroe is off to one of its best starts in a while as the Warhawks enter play this weekend with an 11-8 overall record and a 2-3 mark in league action. ULM began conference play with a pair of wins, but was swept by Arkansas State and Appalachian State over the weekend before falling in five to ULL on Wednesday.
Junior outside hitter Hope Pawlik leads the club offensively with 3.08 kills per set. Pawlik is coming off a 21-kill, 20-dig performance – her sixth double-double of the season and the first 20-kill, 20-dig match by a Warhawk since the 2011 season.
Along with Pawlik, Taylor Zaeske and Hadley Swartz have had solid seasons. The duo is averaging 2.65 and 2.24 kills per set, respectively. Zaeske also has a team-high seven double-doubles on the year.
Tara Jenkins paces the club in the defensive back court with 2.89 digs per set, while Zaeske and Pawlik are averaging 2.81 and 2.58 digs per set, respectively.
A strength for the Warhawks this season has been in the serve/receive game where ULM leads the Sun Belt and ranks as one of the top serving teams in the country. Entering action this weekend, they have 133 aces, which are second-most nationally, and rank sixth in the latest NCAA rankings with 1.93 aces per set.
UL Monroe has three players listed in the top 10 individually in that category. Bayleigh Hoffman ranks second with 31 aces and a 0.46 per set average, while Swartz (24 – 035) is fifth and Pawlik (19 – 0.30) is 10th.
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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