MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team will host the Jaguar Invitational this weekend at Jag Gym.

The two-day tournament will feature Alabama, McNeese State and Southern Mississippi, and will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon with McNeese State (2-1) taking on Southern Miss (3-1). USA (0-2) will open the tournament against Alabama (2-1) at 6 p.m. Friday evening.

Alabama and USM will kick off Saturday with a 10 a.m. match, followed by USA and McNeese State at 12:30 p.m. McNeese State will face Alabama at 4:30 p.m., and the Jaguars will close the tournament with a 6:30 p.m. contest against USM.

Alabama holds a 23-4 all-time series lead over the Jaguars, and has won eight consecutive matches dating back to 1990. South Alabama's last victory over Alabama came in 1989 in Mobile. USA leads the McNeese State series 12-9, and has won the last two contests after defeating the Cowgirls in five sets at the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga., last year. The Jags hold a 27-20 all-time series lead over Southern Miss, and have won two of the last three matchups after defeating the Golden Eagles in five sets at Jag Gym last season. 

The Crimson Tide went 2-1 last weekend at a tournament in West Lafayette, Ind., with wins over Cleveland State and Oral Roberts and a loss to No. 25 Purdue. McNeese State also won two of three matches last weekend, knocking off Houston and Southern at the Maverick Classic in Arlington, Texas, and falling to host Texas-Arlington in straight sets. Southern Miss went 3-1 last weekend at a tournament it hosted in Hattiesburg, Miss., defeating Nicholls State, Little Rock and Jackson State while falling in five sets to Miami (Fla.). South Alabama fell in a pair of matches at Tulane last weekend to open the 2017 season.

USA leads the Sun Belt Conference in blocks with an average of 2.88 blocks per set, and sophomore middle blocker Kelley Hartman leads the SBC in blocks with 1.62 blocks per set after collecting 13 total blocks in eight sets last weekend at Tulane. The Jaguars rank second in the league in service aces, averaging 1.88 service aces per set. Sophomore Ashlyn Roberts ranks tied for sixth in the SBC in service aces with an average of 0.50 per set. 

The first 100 students in attendance at the USA-Alabama game will receive a #BeatBama t-shirt. A schedule poster giveaway is set for Saturday's match with McNeese State, and the Jaguars will hold a postgame team autograph session following the USM contest Saturday evening.

Live streaming for each South Alabama match will be available for free through JagNationTV.com. Live stats for every match of the Jaguar Invitational will be available through the multimedia section of USAJaguars.com.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Rally Score Club, the volleyball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Rally Score Club go directly to support the South Alabama volleyball program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/rallyscoreclub.