2020 Schedule

MOBILE, Ala. – The 2020 University of South Alabama volleyball schedule features 12 home matches, including the Jaguar Invitational, as announced Tuesday by head coach Alexis Meeks-Rydell.

South Alabama will open the 2020 season with a pair of non-conference matches at Louisiana (Sept. 11-12), with the season opener set for Fri., Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m. in Lafayette, La. The series will conclude with a noon match on Sat., Sept. 12.

USA then returns home to host the Jaguar Invitational (Sept. 18-19), with two matches each against Stephen F. Austin and ULM at Jag Gym.  

Conference play will be different this season due to COVID-19; schools will only play conference matches within their division. South Alabama will open Sun Belt Conference play when it hosts Coastal Carolina in a three-match set Sept. 25-26 at Jag Gym. 

USA will ten host Troy (Oct. 1-2) in a pair of league contests before heading to Boone, N.C., for three matches at Applachian State (Oct. 9-10). The Jags will close their home schedule when they host Georgia Southern (Oct. 23-24) in a three-match set at Jag Gym.

South Alabama will travel to Troy (Oct. 30-31) for a pair of matches in Troy, Ala., before it closes the regular season with three matches at Georgia State (Nov. 5-6).

The Sun Belt Conference Championship is scheduled for Nov. 18-22 in Foley, Ala.

"I keep joking that not only is scheduling one of the hardest parts about coaching, but scheduling during a pandemic really takes the cake," Meeks-Rydell said. "We initially had a really strong schedule that involved some decent travel and very good opponents. We have some very good players returning, but for the most part our team is very new, and we wanted to balance the schedule with teams that would challenge us and teams that would also put us where we needed to be from a confidence standpoint. I believe I re-did the schedule around eight times, finally resulting in us just playing all conference opponents outside of Stephen F. Austin, who went 31-2 last season, so that will be a great challenge for us.

"Initially I did not want to play a conference-only schedule, but I do know now that this is what is best for all and still gives us the opportunity to play this fall, which we are beyond grateful for. We went 5-1 against the West Division last season and struggled the most with our divisional opponents, so we are looking at this year as a way to attack what was a weakness for us last season. Our division has great opponents and is going to make our program stronger and set us up extremely well for the conference tournament. Juggling three matches in a weekend is going to be tough for a whole season, but we have put a plan together as a staff to keep our student-athletes healthy mentally and physically to handle the demands of what is coming. We have been very transparent with our student-athletes about everything and keeping them involved in those conversations has put them in a great place mentally. We are ready for whatever is to come this season."

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.