MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team will open the 2018 season when it travels to Dayton, Ohio, this weekend to compete in the Dayton Invitational at Frericks Center on the campus of the University of Dayton. 

The two-day tournament, which will be held Aug. 25-26 will feature Ball State, Dayton, Marshall and South Alabama. The Jaguars will open the 2018 season on Fri., Aug. 25, at 2 p.m. against Ball State. USA will then face Marshall on Sat., Aug. 26, at 9:30 a.m., followed by a 6:30 p.m. contest with Dayton to close the tournament. Sunday's game against Dayton will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and live stats will also be provided for all matches through the multimedia section at USAJaguars.com. Updates will also be provided via the Jaguar volleyball Twitter account (@WeAreSouth_VB).

USA returns 11 letterwinners from last year's squad, which won a program-record 12 Sun Belt Conference matches, and welcome four newcomers to the roster for 2018. USA's 17 wins last season were the most by a Jag team since the 1994 squad captured 17 victories.

South Alabama led the Sun Belt in blocks per set (2.58) last year, and ranked second in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.164). Kelley Hartman earned First-Team All-Sun Belt honors at middle blocker after leading the Sun Belt in blocks per set (1.29) last season. Hartman finished second in hitting percentage (.321) while earning American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Southeast honorable mention.

Hartman was also named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference for the 2018 season. She led the Jags in kills (245), kills per set (2.55), hitting percentage, solo blocks (35), block assists (89), total blocks (124) and blocks per set. Middle blocker Morgan Stalcup ranked tied for second in blocks per set (1.15) in conference matches, and finished sixth in the league in blocks per set (1.06) in all matches.

The Jaguars were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference East Division this year in a poll voted on by the league's head coaches, and received four first-place votes.  

Ball State won the Mid-American Conference West Division title last season and returns 13 letterwinners, including seven seniors, from that squad which won 19 matches. Marshall returns five letterwinners from last season's team that went 11-19. The Thundering Herd lost nine letterwinners from the 2017 roster and welcomes 11 newcomers. Dayton returns nine letterwinners from last season's squad that finished 23-8, including a 13-1 record and second-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference, along with the addition of eight newcomers. The Flyers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons, with last year breaking a streak of three straight seasons in which they have made the postseason tournament.

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 South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give.