Box Score - South Alabama 3, Sacred Heart 2 (.pdf)
Box Score - Providence 3, South Alabama 1 (.pdf)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team split its two matches Saturday afternoon to close out play at the Boston College Invitational held at Power Gym.  The Jaguars dropped the first two sets versus Sacred Heart in the opener, but rallied back, picking up the final three to win 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-13).  In the final match of the tournament for the Jaguars fell 3-1 (14-25, 25-21, 22-25, 19-25) to Providence College.

"I would say that we have some resiliency on this team," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said.  "Being down 0-2 in the first match, we mixed up the lineups to find out what group had the best chemistry.  We found a group that worked really well together for three sets.  We were able to control our side of the net and that made the game easier for us and it was good to see that.  Like today, we are going to have to play in back-to-back matches again.  We just need to find need to find the character and mental toughness to persevere through that fatigue and overcome it.

"We saw some very good play from Nikki Gittens this weekend.  Deanna Canfield also stepped up for us today and she was the difference maker against Sacred Heart.  She was able to come in and handle the ball on first contact and that really turned things around from where we were last night (against Boston College) to where we are today."

The Jaguars (1-2) will next head to Nashville, Tenn., to compete in the Bruin Invitational hosted by Belmont.  USA will open up with the host Bruins on Friday at 12:30 p.m. and then face Memphis at 3:30 p.m. that same day.  The Jaguars will then close out the tournament on Saturday with a single match against UTEP set to begin at 11 a.m.

MATCH ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 3, SACRED HEART 2
In the first match of two, South Alabama got off to a slow start, dropping the first two sets,  but the Jaguars rallied back to capture the final three 25-21, 25-15, 15-13 to take the match.

Mechell Daniel recorded her first double-double of the season for South Alabama, posting 14 kills and 10 digs.  Deanna Canfield also chipped in with 11 kills of her own, while Nikki Gittens added 10 kills and five total blocks – one solo and four assists.  Emma Anderson paced the club with 43 assists and senior libero Emily Hundt had a match-high 18 digs.

Sacred Heart (1-1) was led by Tori Kemper, who had 20 kills and 12 digs.  Sarah Krufka also finished in double figures with 16 kills and four block assists.  Bruna Bon came off the Pioneer bench to register a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 13 digs.  SHU setter Kiki Robinson recorded 53 assists.

SET ONE: SACRED HEART 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
Sacred Heart grabbed control early on in the first set, pushing across seven of the first 10 points of the match.  

The Jaguars fought their way back and eventually took a 13-10 lead as Daniel and Gittens combined on a block.  Savannah Stewart also added a pair of service aces during the run.  Stewart would go on to tie a career high in that category with four aces in the match.

South Alabama later led by four (16-12) following another Pioneer attack error, but on the ensuing point, Allison Riggs recorded a kill of her own to begin a run of four-straight points for SHU.

Tied 23-23 in the set, the Pioneers went up early in the match as Krufka and Kemper each posted a kill to give Sacred Hear the 25-23 win in the opening set.

SET TWO: SACRED HEART 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 21
Kemper continued to provide the offense in the second set for the Pioneers as she added eight more kills in the frame.  

SHU again jumped out to a big early lead, opening the set up on a 9-3 run.  Kemper had four of her kills during the early scoring spurt for Sacred Heart.

USA narrowed the gap to two (14-12) on a kill by Daniel, but that would be as close as the Jaguars would get.  Sacred Heart went on to take the set 25-21 and go up 2-0 in the match.  

The Pioneers recorded a .326 hitting percentage in the frame with 17 kills on 43 attacks and just three errors.

SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, SACRED HEART 21
After giving up the first point of the third set, USA reeled off the next four to take control.  Holding a 10-9 advantage, the Jaguars pushed across four more unanswered points to gain some breathing room.  Daniel began the mini run with another kill and Hundt later capped off the scoring with an ace, one of USA's 11 in the match.

South Alabama later took its largest lead of the frame at 21-14 after an ace by freshman Arissa Chappell and a SHU attack error.

Anderson clinched the 25-21 third set victory when the sophomore Jag setter dumped in a kill of her own.

SET FOUR: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, SACRED HEART 15
The Jags trailed 8-5 in the fourth set, but freshman outside hitter Kristina Alabastro slammed home a kill to ignite a 5-0 run for South Alabama, which eventually gave USA a 10-8 advantage.

USA then broke the set open and took control with a 7-2 run to extend its lead out to 17-10.  Canfield gave the Jaguars the seven-point lead with another ace.

Daniel sealed the 10-point victory for South Alabama with another kill to force a fifth and deciding set.  Daniel was the offensive leader in the frame for the Jags, recording five of her 14 kills.  

As a team, South Alabama posted its best offensive performance of the match, hitting .407 (14-3-27).  SHU struggled offensively in the set, posting a .038 hitting percentage (7-6-26).

SET FIVE: SOUTH ALABAMA 15, SACRED HEART 13
In the final set, South Alabama trailed 12-10 following two unforced errors.  USA would take advantage of several late miscues by Sacred Heart down the stretch though.  

With USA holding set point, the Pioneers recorded their 12th serving error of the match to give South Alabama the 15-13 victory and complete the comeback.

MATCH TWO: PROVIDENCE 3, SOUTH ALABAMA 1
In the final match of the tournament, Providence (1-2) picked up the final two sets to earn a four-set victory over South Alabama.  

Daniel was the lone Jag to end the match in double figures with 15 kills.  Canfield added seven kills of her own and led the club with 12 digs.  Richardson had four block assists at the net, while Gittens and Alabastro each had three block assists of their own.

The Friars had three players register double-digit kill tallies in the win.  Kayla Fitzgerald paced the team with 15 kills and added 11 digs, while Allison Impellizeri had 13 kills and hit .417 in the match.  Emily Horner had 13 kills as well for Providence.  Friar setter Jordan Weisler also had a double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs.  She was one of four players to record double digits in digs.

As a team, Providence held a huge advantage in that category, 62-42 over the Jaguars.

SET ONE: PROVIDENCE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 14
Leading by one (8-7) early on in the opening set, Providence used an 8-2 run over the next 10 points to widen its lead.  Impellizeri and Fletcher each had two kills apiece during the Friar run.  

Providence went on to take the early lead in the match with the 25-14 first-set win.

Daniel had four kills for South Alabama, but as a team, the Jags had just eight total kills in the set.  Providence posted a .345 hitting percentage (15-5-29) and set the tone in the digs department, holding a 17-8 advantage in that category in the set.

SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, PROVIDENCE 25-21
The Friars led by as much as three early on in the second frame, but trailing 11-8, the Jags pushed across three-straight points and tied the set up at 11-11 after an ace by freshman setter Parker Harrell.

PC didn't let South Alabama hold its momentum long though as it answered back with six of the next seven points to retake the lead and push its advantage out to 17-12 on a kill by Fitzgerald.  

Trailing by as much as five (19-14), USA fought its way back and tied the set back up, eventually retaking the lead at 22-21 following back-to-back aces by Canfield.  Including Canfield's aces, the Jaguars picked up the final six points of the set and evened the match at a set apiece with the 25-21 win.

SET THREE: PROVIDENCE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 22
Providence held the lead through much of the third set.  Leading 14-13, Impellizeri led the charge for the Friars picking up three of the next four PC points.  Providence eventually stretched its lead out to as much as six.  

The Jaguars made a late charge, closing the deficit to 24-22 on a kill by Alabastro, but Impellizeri clinched the 25-22 win for the Friars on the next point.  

Impellizeri posted eight of her 13 kills in the match during the third set.  She had her eight kills on 11 attacks and didn't commit an attack error for a .727 hitting percentage.

Weisler had 18 assists in the third set for PC as the Friars posted a .359 hitting percentage (19-5-39).  USA hit .303 in the set, finishing with 11 kills on 33 attacks and just one error.

SET FOUR: PROVIDENCE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19
In the final set, South Alabama led 6-2 early on after a pair of block assists by Richardson.  However, with USA leading 9-6, Providence rattled off six unanswered points to reclaim the lead for good.  The Jags pulled within one on two different occasions, the last coming at 16-15 following a kill by Daniel, one of her five in the set, but the Friars eventually extended the lead back out and held on for the 25-19 win.  

Fitzgerald clinched the match victory with her 15th kill of the afternoon and her seventh of the frame.

NOTES:  Both the meeting versus Sacred Heart and Providence were the first-ever between each program on Saturday.  The win versus Sacred Heart marked the first time since Sept. 8, 2012 at Georgia State that the Jaguars have rallied back to win a match after trailing 2-0.  With the win over the Pioneers in the opening match, the Jaguars are now 2-0 all-time against current Northeast Conference members.  The previous other win versus the NEC came during the 2000 season when USA picked up a 3-2 win over Robert Morris at Coastal Carolina Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.  Mechell Daniel recorded her first double-double of the season with a 14-kill, 10-dig performance versus SHU.  Savannah Stewart tied a career high with four service aces against Sacred Heart.  As a team, South Alabama had 11 aces in the match versus the Pioneers.  With the loss to Providence, USA now holds an all-time record of 1-3 versus current members from the Big East Conference.  Prior to Saturday's match versus the Friars, the last time the Jaguars faced a Big East member was during the 2007 season when USA fell in straight sets to DePaul at the DePaul Invitational in Chicago, Ill.  South Alabama's one-and-only win versus the league came during the 1994 season with a five-set win over Creighton at Tulane Invitational in New Orleans, La.  Nikki Gittens was named to the all-tournament team for her performance.

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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