USA-FAMU box score
USA-CSU box score
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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team swept a pair of matches Friday at Jag Gym in the Jaguar Invitational, sponsored by Holiday Inn Express & Suites University Area, to open the 2021 season.

South Alabama (2-0) defeated Florida A&M in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-23) before a sweep of Charleston Southern (25-18, 25-19, 25-16) to close the opening day of the tournament. The Jaguars will host Jacksonville at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jag Gym to close the Jaguar Invitational.

USA 3, FAMU 0
GAME FACTS
- FAMU held an early 2-1 lead in set one before a 4-0 Jaguar run that featured a pair of kills by Niki Capizzi and Maddie Soboleski and a solo block by Kennedy Wallace gave the Jags a 5-2 advantage.
- USA used a 4-0 run, highlighted by a service ace from Rachel Hickey and kills by Ezgi Karabulut and Capizzi, to double its lead to 12-6 in the opening set. 
- Consecutive kills by Soboleski in set one pushed the Jag lead to 20-12. 
- South Alabama earned set point at 24-20 on a service ace by Paige Lynn, and clinched the 25-20 on a Rattler service error.
- USA tied the score 3-3 in set two on a kill by Wallace, but FAMU answered with a 3-0 run to double its lead at 6-3.
- The Jags took a 9-8 lead in set two on consecutive kills by Karabulut and Capizzi, and a block-assist from Capizzi and Kailey Keeble.
- South Alabama used a 3-0 run in set two, highlighted by a kill from Wallace, to take a 15-10 lead. 
- The Jags earned set point in set two at 24-19 on a service ace by Keeble, and clinched the set 25-19 on a kill by Soboleski to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
- A service ace by Madisen Werdell cut the Jaguar deficit to 10-9 in set three, but FAMU answered with a 4-0 run to take a 14-9 lead.
- USA faced a 16-11 deficit, but a 4-0 run that featured a solo block by Capizzi, block-assist from Capizzi and Alayna Maslinski and kill by Karabulut cut the FAMU lead to 16-15. USA went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a kill by Capizzi, service ace by Lynn and block-assist by Capizzi and Keeble, for a 20-17 advantage.
- USA earned match point at 24-22 on a kill by Soboleski, and clinched the set 25-23 on a kill by Wallace to earn a 3-0 sweep.

NOTES
- Soboleski finished with a career-high 11 kills, and also added nine digs.
- Capizzi finished with 10 kills, a .350 hitting percentage, one dig, one solo block and three block-assists.
- Wallace recorded eight kills on 12 attempts with a .583 hitting percentage, and one solo block.
- Rachel Hickey posted a team-high 17 digs, and also added one assist and one service ace.
- Keeble finished with a game-high 33 assists, in addition to three kills, two service aces, two digs and two block-assists.
- USA posted a .290 team hitting percentage, aided by a .342 hitting percentage in set three.
- The Jags averaged 15.00 digs per set in the match.
- The win marked the first career victory for Jaguar head coach Jesse Ortiz.

USA 3, CSU 0
GAME FACTS
- CSU scored the first point of the match on a block, but USA responded with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a pair of service aces from Capizzi, for a 6-1 Jaguar lead.
- Charleston Southern used a 3-0 scoring run to cut the Jag lead to 8-5 in set one. 
- USA extended its lead to 14-6 in set one with a 5-0 run that featured kills by Wallace, Carissa Bradford and Karabulut.
- The Buccaneers cut the USA lead to 18-13 in set one with a 3-0 run.
- South Alabama pushed its lead to 23-16 with a 3-0 run in set one that featured a kill by Bradford and service ace from Hickey. 
- USA earned set point at 24-17 in set one on a Buccaneer attack error, and clinched the set 25-18 on a kill by Karabulut to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- CSU jumped out to a 2-1 lead in set two, but the Jags answered with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a pair of kills from Wallace, to double their lead at 4-2. 
- A Jaguar service error cut the CSU deficit to one at 4-3 in set two before a 4-0 USA run that featured a service ace from Soboleski pushed the Jag lead to 8-3.
- The Buccaneers answered with a 5-0 scoring run to tie the score at 8-8.
- A kill by Capizzi gave the Jags a 10-8 lead, but CSU rallied for three straight points to take an 11-10 lead.
- A Jaguar attack error gave CSU an 18-17 lead, but USA responded with a 5-0 run, highlighted by kills from Lynn and Karabulut, a service ace by Hickey and block-assist from Capizzi and Bradford for a 22-18 advantage in set two.
- USA earned set point at 24-19 on a kill by Capizzi, and clinched the set 25-19 on a service ace by Lynn to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
- South Alabama doubled its lead to 6-3 in set three after a kill by Bradford and CSU ball-handling error, and took an 8-4 lead following consecutive kills by Wallace and Capizzi.
- A CSU attack error gave USA an 11-5 lead in set three, but the Buccaneers rallied for three consecutive points to cut the Jag lead to 11-8. 
- South Alabama answered with a 5-0 run on a CSU service error, a kill by Soboleski, back-to-back block-assists from Capizzi and Keeble and Capizzi and Soboleski, and a service ace by Karabulut to double the Jaguar advantage at 16-8.
- A 6-0 CSU run, aided by a bad Jaguar set and pair of attack errors, cut the USA lead to 16-14.
- The Jags responded with a 4-0 run that featured two service aces by Capizzi and a kill by Keeble to take a 20-14 lead.
- South Alabama earned match point at 24-15 on a kill by Soboleski, and clinched the set 25-16 on a kill by Morgan Stalcup to clinch the match 3-0. 

NOTES
- Bradford led the Jags with seven kills, and posted a .333 hitting percentage with one dig and one block-assist.
- Capizzi finished with six kills, .556 hitting percentage, five service aces, one dig and four block-assists.
- Keeble recorded 24 assists, and added three kills, one service ace, seven digs and two block-assists.
- The Jaguars posted a .320 team hitting percentage in set two, and .450 hitting percentage in set three.
- USA's 13 service aces were the most by a Jaguar team since Oct. 10, 2003, when South Alabama finished with 13 aces at Louisiana.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the wins:
"It was awesome. I just like how hard our team played. They showed a lot of effort today, and it was pretty amazing. We have put a lot of work in, and it means a lot. It is a testament to their hard work. The machine that they were showing tonight – it was pretty great."

- On the crowd:
"I think a crowd is big, and you saw it out here tonight; it was something else. And the more rowdy and wild they get, the better it is for all of us. It makes one huge team here at South against everybody who comes in here, so that's pretty awesome."

- On closing the tournament with Jacksonville on Saturday:
"Maggie Couture is a great coach, and I expect those ladies to come at us pretty hard. They are so much better than they were last year. It is going to be a dogfight, but we're up for it."
 
UP NEXT
South Alabama will host Jacksonville at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jag Gym to close the Jaguar Invitational, sponsored by Holiday Inn Express & Suites University Area.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. 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.