USA-SLU Box Score
USA-MSU Box Score

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team swept a pair of matches to open the Jaguar Invitational at Jag Gym on Friday.

USA (3-5) defeated Southeastern Louisiana in straight sets (25-14, 25-14, 25-19) in its opening match of the tournament, followed by a win in straight sets over Mississippi State (25-19, 25-19, 25-22) Friday evening.

South Alabama will return to action when it closes the Jaguar Invitational against Louisiana Tech at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Jag Gym.

South Alabama 3, Southeastern Louisiana 0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-19)
GAME FACTS
- The Jaguars opened the match with a 4-0 run that featured kills by Kelley Hartman and Hannah Harris.
- A 6-0 Jaguar run later in the set, highlighted by a pair of kills from Meaghan Jones, a kill and service ace by Harris and two total blocks from Morgan Stalcup, to take a 12-4 lead.
- South Alabama closed the first set with a 3-0 run, and earned set point then clinched the set on consecutive kills from Harris for a 25-14 win.
- USA went on a 3-0 run late in the second set after kills from Stalcup and Jones, and a block-assist from Kelley Hartman and Hannah Johnson, for a 20-13 advantage. The Jaguars then used a 5-0 scoring run to win the set 25-14 and take a 2-0 lead in the match. USA earned set point and clinched the set on back-to-back Lion attack errors.
- With the score tied at 18-18 late in the third set, the Jags went on a 5-0 run that featured a service ace by Kelley Hartman, kill by Harris and a block-assist from Stalcup and Lauren Hartman to build a 23-18 lead. USA earned match point at 24-19 on a kill by Lauren Hartman on an assist from Parker Harrell, and clinched the match on a kill by Harris.

NOTES
- Kelley Hartman finished with a game-high 12 kills and .529 hitting percentage, along with one service ace, two digs and five total blocks.
- Jones added 10 kills and three total blocks, while Harris finished with eight kills, one service ace, one assist, eight digs and one block.
- Harrell and Rachael DeMarcus finished with 18 assists apiece. Harrell also added one service ace and nine digs, while DeMarcus also recorded one kill and six digs.
- Stalcup added five kills and six total blocks, while Harris finished with eight kills, one service ace, one assist and one block.
- The Jaguars recorded 11 total team blocks in the match. 
- USA posted a .448 team hitting percentage in the opening set, followed by a .353 percentage in set two.
- The Jags finished with a .351 team hitting percentage in the match, while SLU finished with a .073 hitting percentage.

South Alabama 3, Mississippi State 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-22) 
GAME FACTS
- South Alabama used a 3-0 scoring run early in the opening set on kills from DeMarcus and Johnson and a block by Johnson to take an 8-6 lead. The Jags went on a 3-0 run late in the set that featured kills from Jones and Harris to build a 20-15 advantage. MSU cut the USA lead to 21-19 on a kill by AJ Koele and a Jaguar attack error, but the Jags went on a 4-0 scoring run to close the set, earning set point on a kill from Stalcup and clinching the set at 25-19 on a Bulldog attack error. 
- Mississippi State went on a 7-0 scoring run to open the second set, aided by four Jaguar attack errors. But a 5-0 Jaguar run that featured a pair of kills from Lauren Hartman tied the score at 8-8. 
- Consecutive block-assists by Stalcup and Johnson aided a 3-0 Jaguar run later in the set to build a 22-18 advantage. USA earned set point on a kill by Kelley Hartman with an assist from DeMarcus, and clinched the set 25-19 on a Bulldog error.
- South Alabama went on a 5-0 run late in the third set, highlighted by three kills from Jones, to take a 21-18 lead. MSU answered with a 4-0 run to take a 22-21 lead, but the Jags responded with a 4-0 run to win the match. USA earned match point at 24-22 on a block-assist by Kelley Hartman and Harris, and clinched the match on a kill by Harris on an assist from Harrell.

NOTES
- Harris finished with a game-high 13 kills, along with a .292 hitting percentage, three digs and two total blocks.
- Kelley Hartman added 11 kills, a .526 hitting percentage, one assist, one service ace, four digs and two total blocks. Jones recorded 10 kills, one dig and two total blocks. 
- Harrell finished with a team-high 21 assists, two kills and seven digs. DeMarcus added 17 assists, one kill and three digs.
- Ashlyn Roberts recorded a team-high 13 digs along with five assists. Johnson added four kills, one dig and five total blocks.
- The Jags posted a .406 team hitting percentage in the opening set, and hit .395 in the final set of the match.
- USA finished with a .303 team hitting percentage, while MSU hit .224 as a team.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On the win over Southeastern Louisiana:
"I thought the team came out focused. I knew we would have a little bit of adrenaline and excitement for being home, and I asked them to go out focused with that adrenaline so we could maintain it for three sets and they did exactly that. Offensively and defensively we executed, and we've just been talking a lot about being focused."

- On improvements from last weekend in the SLU match:
"We were balanced offensively, and last weekend we weren't as balanced. Our setters did a great job distributing the ball to all three of their attackers. We worked a lot on our out-of-system defense, and I thought we improved in that. We're a good-serving team, and when we get a team out of system then we have to be good in that defense."

- On the win over Mississippi State:
"Mississippi State has really been coming along; they've been improving each week, and I knew they would be a tough test coming into today. We did a good job of making plays at the end of the sets. We had some people step up, and that's what we've been talking about in our gym. I was proud of our team for that."

- On sweeping a pair of matches:
"It was awesome to be home. Jag Gym has come a long way, and this is really a good place to call home. Our fans were awesome tonight, and that really helped add to the adrenaline. We talked a lot this week about our team playing more as a team and our bench being one unit as a team, and we really saw that today. They're a great group that is very coachable."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action when it closes the Jaguar Invitational against Louisiana Tech at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Jag Gym.

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.