Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated McNeese in five sets (25-17, 31-33, 23-25, 25-15, 15-13) Friday to open the Bulldog Invitational at the Ramsey Center. 

USA (8-3) won the final two sets of the match to earn its eighth win of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Kristina Alabastro finished with career highs in kills (20) and hitting percentage (.463) to lead the Jaguar attack, while also adding two digs and one block assist. Abby Baker tied a career high with 34 digs and also finished with three assists. Iva Durdanovic recorded her team-best fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 15 kills and 11 digs, while also adding three service aces. Mechell Daniel added 14 kills and four digs, while Nikki Gittens posted 12 kills, a .550 hitting percentage and four block assists.

"We were clicking offensively," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "Our passers did a good job, and we really focused on that this week. We were able to execute on our side of the net pretty well, which was good to see. We had some great offensive performances; Kristina (Alabastro) put up some good numbers on the outside. That was a good positive and really the reason why we were in that match."

The Jaguars took the fifth and deciding set 15-13 to earn the victory. After overcoming a one-point deficit to tie the score 7-7, USA scored five of the next six points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Alabastro and one kill apiece by Durdanovic and Daniel, to take a 12-8 lead. The Cowgirls then scored the next three points to cut their deficit to 12-11, but a service error followed which gave the Jags a 13-11 advantage. USA forced match point on a kill by Daniel for a 14-12 lead. McNeese (3-10) earned the ensuing point, but Daniel clinched the match for USA with her third kill of the set. The Jaguars recorded 13 kills in the set along with a .400 team hitting percentage.

"We run a 6-2 so we always have three hitters," Hendrichovsky said. "It's really helped us with our hitting efficiency. Our setters are doing a good job keeping it balanced but also finding our hot hitters, and we found some weaknesses defensively and we just continued to try and expose that."

South Alabama opened the match with a 25-17 win in set one. The Jaguars opened up a five-point lead, 14-9, midway through the set after scoring four consecutive points, highlighted by a pair of service aces and one kill from Durdanovic. USA pushed its advantage to seven points, 23-16, later in the set after another four-point rally that featured kills by Alabastro and Daniel and a service ace from Durdanovic. The Jags clinched the set with a kill by Alabastro and a McNeese attack error.

The Cowgirls evened the match with a 33-31 win in set two, and took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in set three. But the Jaguars answered with a 25-15 win in set four to force a fifth set.

USA built a five-point lead, 12-7, in the fourth set after scoring four straight points which featured three McNeese errors and a kill by Durdanovic. The Jags outscored the Cowgirls 6-2 down the stretch, including a kill by Avery Cooper which clinched the set.

South Alabama will close the Bulldog Invitational with a pair of Saturday matches. The Jaguars will face Bethune-Cookman at 9 a.m. (CT), followed by a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup against Georgia. The USA-UGA contest will be broadcast live on WatchESPN.com, while live stats will be available at GeorgiaDogs.com.

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).