Box Score

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The University of South Alabama volleyball fell to Valparaiso in five sets (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 22-25, 14-16) Saturday in the Golden Eagle Invitational at Eblen Center.

USA (4-2) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match before Valparaiso (5-1) rallied to win the next three sets to clinch the match. South Alabama will return to action next weekend at the Jax State Invitational in Jacksonville, Ala., and will open with Southern Miss on Fri., Sept. 10, at 1:30 p.m.

GAME FACTS
Set 1
- The Jags jumped out to a 3-0 lead to open the match with kills from Maddie Soboleski and Niki Capizzi, and a Valpo attack error. A kill by Soboleski gave the Jags a 4-1 lead before Valpo went on a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead.
- A kill by Kennedy Wallace tied the score 7-7, but the Beacons used a 4-0 run to build an 11-7 advantage. The Jags responded with a 4-0 run on four straight kills from Wallace, Capizzi, Ezgi Karabulut and Carissa Bradford to tie the score 11-11. 
- Valpo took a 16-15 lead on a kill by Jillie Grant, but a 5-0 Jaguar run that featured four kills by Soboleski and a kill by Capizzi – with assists by Kailey Keeble on all five – gave South Alabama a 21-16 lead.
- USA earned set point at 24-18 on a service ace by Keeble, and clinched the set 25-20 on a kill by Wallace to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set 2
- South Alabama opened up a 5-0 lead to start set two with a run that featured kills by Capizzi and Soboleski, and a block-assist from Wallace and Keeble.
- Kills by Wallace and Bradford, and a block-assist from Wallace and Soboleski highlighted a 4-0 Jaguar run that pushed the USA lead to 9-3.
- Three consecutive kills from Wallace, Karabulut and Bradford extended the Jaguar lead to 12-4.
- A kill and service ace by Karabulut pushed the USA advantage to 17-7. 
- The Jaguars earned set point at 24-16 on a kill by Karabulut, and clinched the set 25-17 on a kill by Capizzi for a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set 3
- Following a block-assist by Soboleski and Capizzi and a solo block by Capizzi, Valparaiso went on a 4-0 run to double its lead at 4-2. 
- South Alabama gained an 8-6 lead with a 3-0 run that featured a block-assist by Wallace and Keeble, and kills by Wallace and Bradford.
- The Jags took a 10-8 lead after a bad set by Valpo, but the Beacons went on a 3-0 run to take an 11-10 lead.
- Three Jaguar attack errors, a Beacon block and a kill by Maddy Boyer gave Valpo the lead at 18-13. 
- Valpo went on a 4-0 run to take a 23-16 lead, and earned set point at 24-16 on a kill by Bella Ravotto. USA then went on a 5-0 run after kills by Keeble, Soboleski, Wallace and Bradford, a block-assist by Wallace and Bradford to cut the Valpo lead to 24-21.
- The Beacons clinched the set 25-21 on a bad Jaguar set to cut the USA lead to 2-1 in the match.

Set 4
- Kills by Boyer and Ravotto helped Valpo kick off set four with a 4-0 scoring run.
- The Jags used a 4-0 run that was highlighted by kills from Capizzi and Soboleski to take an 11-10 lead.
- A kill by Haley Hart cut the Valpo deficit to one at 13-12, but the Jaguars reeled off four straight points on a pair of kills from Soboleski, a kill by Bradford and a Beacon attack error to push their lead to 17-12.
- Valpo tied the score 18-18 with a 4-0 run, and took a 21-19 lead on a 3-0 run that was capped by a service ace from Peyton McCarthy.
- Valpo earned set point at 24-21 on a kill by Elise Swistek, and clinched the set 25-22 on a kill by Haley Hart to tie the match 2-2.

Set 5
- A kill by Soboleski cut the Valpo lead to 2-1, but the Beacons then went on a 3-0 run on a pair of kills and a Jaguar attack error to take a 5-1 lead.
- South Alabama cut its deficit to one at 7-6 on a kill by Wallace, but consecutive kills from Swistek gave Valpo a 9-6 lead.
- A block-assist by Capizzi and Bradford and a Valpo attack error cut the Beacon lead to 9-8 before a kill by Hart gave Valpo a 10-8 advantage.
- Valpo held a 12-10 lead, but South Alabama took a 13-12 lead with a 3-0 run that featured a pair of kills by Soboleski.
- USA earned match point at 14-13 on a kill by Soboleski on an assist from Keeble before Valpo tied the score 14-14 on a kill by McCarthy.
- The Beacons earned match point at 15-14 on a kill by McCarthy, and clinched the set 16-14 on a kill by Swistek to clinch the match 3-2.

NOTES
- Soboleski finished with a career-high 24 kills, along with eight digs and three total blocks.
- Wallace recorded a season-high 14 kills, a .480 hitting percentage, three digs and four total blocks.
- Capizzi finished with a career-high 14 kills, a .263 hitting percentage, two digs and three total blocks.
- Keeble recorded her third double-double of the season with career highs in assists (58) and digs (24), and also added two kills and two total blocks.
- Rachel Hickey finished with a career-high 33 digs, and also added five assists. Her 33 digs rank tied for third on the Jaguar individual match records list, and are the most since Abby Baker's 40 digs at Louisiana on Nov. 3, 2017.
- Bradford recorded a season-high 10 kills, and added one assist, four digs and two blocks.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the loss:
"Valpo is a tremendous group and we knew that; we had them rated the highest in the tournament. We prepped for them and knew what we were going to get into with them. We just came out like gangbusters, especially in the first set and we just kept it rolling in the second set. We were a machine and that was indicative of our group. That was playing to a pretty high standard. And we had our own chances to finish it out, but matches versus good teams, even if you do go up two (sets) – you have to believe you're probably going to go extra innings and that's what we did today. Our hat goes off to them. That's a great squad. We feel like there is a ton we did that was great, but it doesn't count unless you get the 'W' at the end. We're not pumped about the outcome, but our group is still growing into a force and that's what it is today."

- On the team's experience gained in playing two five-set matches at the tournament:
"It is a long season ahead of us, and this is a marathon not a sprint. We appreciate being tested and it makes us stronger. It would be great to come out on the other side of these, but we're learning a lot about ourselves and we are seeing how we handle adversity and handle those tough situations at the end when the pressure is on. I thought we did a really good job. There are some things we could have done better, obviously, and we're going to have to execute in crunch time to be able to raise the standard a little bit. It definitely fell off a tad; not a lot, but enough to let a good team be in there in the fight, and letting a team be in there – you're going to sometimes lose those things and it happened to us this weekend."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action next weekend when it travels to Jacksonville, Ala., to compete in the Jax State Invitational, hosted by Jacksonville State.

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.