Box Score

LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team fell in straight sets (17-25, 20-25, 22-25) to Louisiana in Friday's season opener at Earl K. Long Gym. 

South Alabama (0-1) will return to action Saturday when it faces Louisiana (3-0) at noon in Lafayette, La., to wrap up the two-game series.

 GAME FACTS
- Consecutive kills by Hannah Maddux and Hannah Harris cut the Louisiana lead to 12-8 in set one, but the Cajuns responded with a 4-0 run, aided by a pair of Jaguar attack errors and two kills by Hali Wisnoskie, to double their lead to 16-8. UL later earned set point at 24-16 on a kill by Kara Barnes, and clinched the set 25-17 on a kill by Wisnoskie for a 1-0 lead in the match.
- A kill by Meaghan Jones tied the score at 3-3 in set two, but the Cajuns scored five of the next six points for an 8-4 advantage. USA rallied to score five of the next six points, highlighted by a kills from Maddie Soboleski and Harris, and a service ace by Rachel Hickey, tied the score at 9-9. The Jags took a 14-10 lead after a 4-0 run that featured a kill and service ace by Maddux, and kills by Jones, Harris and Soboleski. A kill by Rebecca Walk gave the Jags a 17-15 advantage, but the Cajuns answered with a 6-0 run to take a 21-17 lead. The Cajuns later earned set point at 24-19 on a bad Jaguar set, and clinched the set 25-20 on a kill by Barnes for a 2-0 lead in the match.
- USA went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a kill from Hannah Johnson and service ace by Harris, to open set three. A 3-0 Jag run later in the set that featured a kill by Walk gave South Alabama a 13-6 lead. Louisiana responded with a 6-0 run to cut the Jag lead to 13-12, and tied the score 14-14 on a solo block by Barnes. But a kill by Harris and bad set by the Cajuns gave USA a 16-14 lead. A kill by Walk gave the Jags a 19-18 lead, but a 3-0 Cajun run pushed the UL lead to 21-19. Louisiana earned match point at 24-21 on a kill by Barnes, and clinched the set 25-22 on a kill by Wisnoskie to clinch the match.

NOTES
- Walk finished with seven kills and .333 hitting percentage to lead the Jaguar attack, along with a pair of digs.
- Soboleski posted 25 assists, three kills, one service ace and three digs in her Jaguar debut.
- Maddux recorded a career-high 11 digs, and added five kills, one assist, one service ace and one block-assist.
- South Alabama finished with a .102 team hitting percentage, while Louisiana finished with a percentage of .305.
- Wisnoskie recorded a game-high 18 kills, .444 hitting percentage, one assist, one service ace, eight digs and three total blocks to lead the Cajuns.
- Louisiana finished with 9.5 total team blocks, while the Jags finished with three.
- The loss marked the Jaguars second straight in Lafayette dating back to the 2018 season.

QUOTES
Head Coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell
- On the loss:
"I first have to give credit to Louisiana. They showed up to play tonight, and were resilient and confident in their play. I also would like to congratulate Hali Wisnoskie on breaking a huge record tonight and then following it up with a great performance. We almost have an entirely new team put together this season, and with that comes challenges of figuring each other out and adjusting to what our strengths and weaknesses are this year. We are young and a lot of our kinks will work themselves out over time with experience. We need to show up with more intention tomorrow, and we need to trust that we are a good team and program."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action Saturday when it faces Louisiana at noon at Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La. 

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.