Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team will close its regular season schedule with a three-match Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State this week.

The series will kick off Thu., Nov. 5, at 10 a.m. (CT) at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, followed by match two at 5 p.m. (CT). The series finale is set for noon (CT) first serve on Fri., Nov. 6.

None of the matches will be streamed at GSU, but live stats will be provided for each match and accessible via the multimedia link at USAJaguars.com. 

USA (7-10, 7-6 SBC) enters the series with a two-match losing skid after dropping a pair of matches at Troy last weekend. The Jaguars sit in third place in the Sun Belt Conference East Division standings and are three games ahead of Georgia State (5-10, 4-9 SBC) entering the series.

Jaguar freshman Rebecca Walk enters the final week of the regular season as the Sun Belt leader in hitting percentage (.379), while senior middle blocker Hannah Johnson ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.278). USA setter Maddie Soboleski ranks tied for third in the conference in service aces per set (0.37), and eighth in assists per set (7.58). Libero Rachel Hickey ranks seventh in the league in digs per set (4.35). South Alabama ranks fifth in the Sun Belt in opponent hitting percentage (.163) and service aces per set (1.42) entering the series.

The Jags are averaging 2.05 blocks per set and 13.51 digs per set in 13 Sun Belt matches this season. Hickey leads the team with 4.04 dps in league contests. Johnson leads the squad with 0.83 blocks per set in conference matches, followed by Walk who has averaged 0.82 bps.

Soboleski enters the series having recorded five consecutive double-doubles dating back to the Oct. 22 series opener with Georgia Southern. She leads the Jags with seven double-doubles this season, followed by Hannah Harris with three.

GSU ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in blocks per set (2.14), led by Meisheia Griffin who ranks fourth in the league in blocks per set (1.09). Jordan Shoemaker ranks seventh in the conference in assists per set (8.38), and Leah Wilcox ranks 10th in kills per set (3.12).

South Alabama holds a 13-5 all-time lead over Georgia State in a series that began on Oct. 9, 1976, in Columbus, Georgia. The Jaguars have won five of the last six meetings in the series dating back to 2017 after the schools split a pair of matches last season. GSU defeated USA in five sets in Atlanta on Oct. 4 last year before the Jags knocked off the Panthers in straight sets on Oct. 26 in Mobile. South Alabama is 1-1 all-time against Georgia State under head coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell. 

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.