USA-SLU Box Score
USA-FIU Box Score
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team opened the Jaguar Invitational with a pair wins Friday at Jag Gym.
USA (4-1) opened the tournament with a five-set win over Southeastern Louisiana (25-18, 25-15, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12), and closed day one with a win in straight sets over Florida International (25-20, 25-13, 25-19). The win over the Lions marked the Jaguars' second five-set match win this season.
South Alabama will face Florida A&M (2-3), who also defeated SLU and FIU on Friday, in the championship match of the Jaguar Invitational at 1 p.m. Saturday at Jag Gym. Live streaming for the match will be available at JagNationTV.com, while live stats will be provided at USAJaguars.com.
USA 3, Southeastern Louisiana 2
The Jaguars jumped out to a 2-0 lead after taking sets one and two 25-18 and 25-15, respectively, but SLU responded by winning the next two sets to force a fifth set.
With the score tied 10-10, USA reeled off three straight points on kills from Kelley Hartman, Kristina Alabastro and Nikki Gittens to take a 13-10 lead. The Lions cut the Jaguar lead to one point at 13-12 following kills from Madi Odom and Chloee Holden. But consecutive Lion errors – one service error and one match-ending attack error – gave the Jags a 15-12 win in set five and 3-2 win to open the tournament.
USA scored the first four points of the match to open set one, and built an 11-point lead after a kill by Daniel pushed the advantage to 18-7. The Lions cut the Jaguar lead back down to six, but a kill by Daniel on set-point gave USA a 1-0 lead.
South Alabama built a seven-point advantage in set two to take a 17-10 lead following a service ace by Ashlyn Roberts. The Jags scored four of the final six points in the set , which was capped by consecutive Lion service errors.
"We really came out focused and determined in our first match, and really played a good match," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We lost the momentum and had a hard time getting back, but I was proud of our effort to take it back as well as the resilience of our team to come back for the fifth set and take it."
Iva Durdanovic recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with 11 kills and 14 digs, to lead the Jaguar attack. Mechell Daniel added eight kills and five digs, and Hartman and Alabastro added seven kills. USA finished with 14 total team blocks, led by Daniel who recorded one block solo and four block assists.
USA 3, FIU 0
South Alabama hit .360 and recorded 42 kills, led by Durdanovic who finished with 10. Hartman finished with nine kills and posted a .500 hitting percentage while Sarah Richardson added seven kills while recording a .636 hitting percentage in 11 total attacks.
The Jags opened the match with a 25-20 win in set one, posting 17 kills while hitting .407, and followed with a 25-13 set-two win in which they finished with a .474 hitting percentage. South Alabama closed the match with a 25-19 win in set three, led by a five-kill set from Hartman.
"Going into the second match, we had a discussion of how to learn from what we learned in the five-setter and I thought we executed our plan really well and we stayed intense and focused for three straight sets. That was the difference of the first match to the second match."
USA recorded 10 service aces in the match, led by Ashlyn Roberts who finished with five. Durdanovic added three, while Arissa Chappell and Abby Baker finished with one apiece. Baker also recorded a team-high 14 digs, while Roberts led with 21 assists.
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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