Box Score

LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated Louisiana-Lafayette in four sets (25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20) Sunday at Earl K. Long Gym.

Two Jaguars recorded double-doubles in the match, led by Mechell Daniel who finished with 13 kills and a career-high 22 digs along with two service aces, one assist and one block assist. Kellyn Reeves recorded 26 assists and a career-high 22 digs along with two service aces. Kelley Hartman finished with a career-high 13 kills, and also added three digs and two block assists. Iva Durdanovic recorded 10 kills, one assist and six digs.

"Kellyn (Reeves) ran a balanced offense and really got Kelley (Hartman) into the game early," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "She was in a groove and played a very solid game for us today. And because she was offensive, it really opened up Mechell and allowed her to also be offensive as well."

USA (15-12, 6-8 SBC) took a 2-0 lead in the match after taking set one 25-18, followed by a 25-19 win in set two.

South Alabama hit .333 in the opening set, led by Hartman's four kills and .500 hitting percentage, while ULL hit just .094 as a team in set one. The Jaguars held a two-point lead, 11-9, before reeling off four straight points, highlighted by a kill from Hartman and service ace from Ashlyn Roberts, who finished with a career-high three kills, 18 assists, two service aces and five digs, to take a 15-9 lead. USA pushed its lead to 20-11 later in the set behind five consecutive points, which featured a pair of service aces by Daniel. The Jags earned set point on a Cajun service error, and clinched the set on a kill by Daniel.

USA closed the second set by scoring the final three points of the set on a kill by Kristina Alabastro, a service ace by Sarah Richardson for set point and an ULL attack error which sealed the set for the Jags at 25-19. South Alabama posted five total team blocks in set two, led by Richardson and Nikki Gittens who recorded one block solo and one block assist each in the set. 

ULL (9-19, 5-8 SBC) took set three 25-22 before the Jaguars clinched the fourth set 25-20 for the win. Alabastro, Durdanovic and Hartman recorded four kills apiece in set four, while Reeves finished with nine digs in the final set. USA scored five of the first six points in the set, highlighted by a pair of kills from Alabastro, and a service ace and kill by Roberts, to jump out to a 5-1 lead. South Alabama pushed its lead to seven points, 18-11, later in the set after scoring four straight points on three kills by Durdanovic and a kill from Alabastro. The Jags earned set point, 24-20, on a kill by Daniel and clinched the match on a Cajun attack error.

"I thought our response today was good," Hendrichovsky said. "We learned a valuable lesson Friday night, and I thought the team really responded to that when we were put in the same situation today. We maintained great composure throughout the whole match. We had a game plan, and I thought the blocking defense played really well together and followed the game plan. We were able to earn points in our transition game which helped us spread the scores in the first, second and fourth sets."

South Alabama will return to action next weekend when it closes the regular season with a pair of SBC road matches. USA will face Appalachian State at 5:30 p.m. (CT) Fri., Nov. 11, in Boone, N.C., followed by the regular-season finale at Coastal Carolina on Sun., Nov. 13, at noon (CT) in Conway, S.C.

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).