Box Score (PDF)

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The University of South Alabama volleyball team swept Texas State in straight sets (25-20, 26-24, 25-18) Friday at Strahan Coliseum to open Sun Belt Conference play.

South Alabama (6-5, 1-0 SBC) set a season high in blocks (17) in the win, led by Symone Stephenson who finished with a career-high 10 total blocks. Texas State (8-7, 0-1 SBC) recorded just four total blocks in the loss, which marked its fourth straight. 

USA will wrap up its weekend road swing with a 6:30 p.m. match with Texas-Arlington (7-7, 1-0 SBC) Saturday at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks defeated Troy 3-1 in their SBC opener Friday in Arlington. 

GAME FACTS
- USA recorded a .306 team hitting percentage in the opening set, which it one 25-20, led by Kelley Hartman's four kills and .571 hitting percentage. Iva Durdanovic and Kristina Alabastro added three kills each in the first set. 
- Texas State earned set point at 24-21 in the second set, but three straight Bobcat errors – one service error and two attack errors – tied the set at 24-24. Following a Texas State timeout, the Jaguars scored two straight points on a block assist by Symone Stephenson and Iva Durdanovic and a set-clinching solo block by Stephenson.
-  The Jags clinched the final set with a 4-0 scoring run, highlighted by kills from Alabastro and Durdanovic. 
- The match marked the first time this season South Alabama did not record a service ace.
- Texas State committed 32 attack errors and finished with a .042 team hitting percentage. 

NOTES
- Stephenson finished with a career-high 10 blocks, two solo blocks and eight blocks assists, as well as four kills and two digs.
- Parker Harrell recorded her first double-double of the season after finishing with 15 assists and 12 digs. Ashlyn Roberts added 10 assists and five digs.
- Durdanovic led the team with 10 kills along with two digs and six block assists. Kelley Hartman finished with nine kills, a .350 hitting percentage, one dig and five total blocks – one solo and four block assists. 
- Abby Baker recorded a game-high 19 digs in three sets as well as four assists. 
- South Alabama snapped a four-game losing skid in the series with the win, and cut the Texas State all-time series lead to 7-3. It marked USA's first win over Texas State since 2015, and the program's first-ever win in San Marcos. 

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the win:
"We challenged the team, and they performed exactly how we asked them to perform tonight. It was a good win to open conference play at Texas State."

- On the defensive effort: 
"That was a huge aspect of our success. We were able to execute our game plan blocking-wise, and it really made them (Texas State) uncomfortable as attackers. I was very happy with our team; that's something we've been working on through the preseason and haven't really put three complete sets together back-to-back-to-back. But we were able to do that tonight."

- On looking ahead to Texas-Arlington:
"I think the big thing is celebrating tonight's win briefly, but I told the team we have to start focusing on UTA on the trip over to Arlington tonight. We can always improve. It's early in the season and we have some things that we are looking to improve in. I thought for one set tonight we executed our offense cleanly, and if we can execute our offense efficiently for three sets then that would be improvement from tonight."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action when it squares off with Texas-Arlington at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Live streaming and live stats will be available and can be accessed through the Jaguar volleyball schedule page at 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.