South Alabama Invitational Central

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team will host the South Alabama Invitational, presented by Hampton Inn, Sept. 20-21 at Jag Gym.

The tournament field will consist of Bethune-Cookman (2-6), Louisiana Tech (7-3) and Nicholls State (6-2) in addition to the Jags. Each match of the tournament will be streamed live and available for free at JagNationTV.com, while live stats for every match will also be available through the Jaguar volleyball schedule page, as well as through the South Alabama Invitational Central page which can be accessed via a link at the top of the Jaguar volleyball main page at USAJaguars.com.

BCU and NSU will kick off the tournament at 11:30 a.m. Friday, followed by the Jaguars' match against Louisiana Tech at 2 p.m. Louisiana Tech and NSU square off at 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, followed by USA's matchup with BCU at 7 p.m. Friday night.

BCU and Louisiana Tech will face each other at 2 p.m. Saturday, while USA and NSU will close the tournament with a 4:30 p.m. match Saturday afternoon. 

South Alabama (5-5) defeated Alabama State in four sets Tuesday in Montgomery, Ala., which snapped a two-match losing skid. The Jaguars are 4-0 at home this season, and have lost just three of 12 total sets in Jag Gym. USA ranks fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in hitting percentage (.229), and sixth in service aces per set (1.36) entering the weekend. 

Kelley Hartman leads the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.431), and ranks eighth in kills per set (3.60). Rachael DeMarcus ranks fifth in the league in assists per set (10.19), while Lillie Fromdahl ranks eighth in assists per set (6.24). Ashlyn Roberts ranks fifth in the Sun Belt in digs per set (4.18).

BCU carries a three-match losing streak into the tournament after dropping all three matches at last weekend's FAU Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla. The Wildcats fell to Boston College, Southern Utah and FAU all in straight sets.

Louisiana Tech enters the weekend with a four-match win streak after defeating Nicholls State, Mississippi Valley State and ULM at last weekend's LA TECH Invitational in Ruston, La. 

Nicholls State carries a two-match losing streak into the tournament after dropping its final two matches of last weekend's LA TECH Invitational to Louisiana Tech and ULM.

South Alabama holds a 2-0 all-time lead over Bethune-Cookman in a series that began in 2002. USA swept the Wildcats in Athens, Ga., in 2016, which marked the last meeting between the schools. Louisiana Tech holds a 14-3 all-time lead over the Jags in a series that dates back to 1992; however, South Alabama has won the last two meetings in four sets each, including the last meeting which took place last season in Jag Gym. 

USA owns a 19-14 all-time lead over Nicholls State in a series that began in 1980. The Jags carry a four-match win streak in the series into Saturday's match. USA swept the Colonels in 2016 in Birmingham, Ala., which marked the last meeting between the schools.

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.