MOBILE, Ala. – With less than two weeks before the official start of the 2024 campaign, Friday will mark the unofficial start of the season as South Alabama will hold its annual Red vs. Blue Match at Jag Gym. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
South Alabama – which went 22-9 and 12-4 in the Sun Belt a year ago – returns two starters and five letterwinners from last season's team. Among the list or returnees are
Abryanna Cannon and
Lillie Simons. Cannon's 2.31 kills per set are the most among returnees, while ranked second on the team in blocks (103.0) in 2023.
The Jaguars also welcome 11 new additions to the roster – five redshirts (
Dalayla Blackwell,
Margo Hernandez,
Erika Spankus,
Aniston Cochran and
Preslee Thompson) and six newcomers (
Maradith O'Gorman,
Sarah Gooch,
Abby Nelson,
Eva Dittmar,
Alexa Strandberg and
Megan Smith.
The Red Team and Blue Team rosters are as follows:
RED TEAM
0 –
Sarah Gooch (Apopka, Fla.)
2 –
Abby Nelson (Fairhope, Ala.)
3 –
Addison Hurst (Cleveland, Tenn.)
5 –
Maradith O'Gorman (Lake Odessa, Mich.)
7 –
Dalayla Blackwell (Lafayette, La.)
10 –
Margo Hernandez (Fishers, Ind.)
11 –
Evie Taylor (Gilbert, Ariz.)
14 –
Emily Ready (Louisville, Ky.)
16 –
Erika Spankus (Palm Harbor, Fla.)
BLUE TEAM
1 –
Abryanna Cannon (Novi, Mich.)
4 –
Eva Dittmar (Zanesville, Ohio)
9 –
Anna Loberg (Geneva, Ill.)
12 –
Jacqueline Beville (St. Louis, Mo.)
13 –
Briana Wilson (Alabaster, Ala.)
17 –
Aniston Cochran (Semmes, Ala.)
20 –
Preslee Thompson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
21 –
Lillie Simons (Marengo, Ill.)
22 –
Alexa Strandberg (Copley, Ohio)
23 –
Megan Smith (Conway, Ark.)
Following the Red-Blue Match, South Alabama will host the Jaguar Invitational hosted by Hampton by Hilton at Providence Park where the Jags will take on Texas A&M on Friday (Aug. 30) at 5:30 p.m. and McNeese State on Sunday (Sept. 1) at 11 a.m.
FOLLOW THE JAGS
For complete coverage of South Alabama Volleyball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaVB (Twitter), /SouthAlabama (Facebook), @southalabamavb (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at USAJaguars.com.
