JAG NOTES
•    South Alabama (4-4) enters the tournament after falling 3-1 at Mississippi State on Wednesday, snapping its three-match win streak
•    Outside hitter Sarah Gooch led the club offensively with 18 kills and a .333 hitting percentage
•    With the performance, Gooch raised her kills-per-set average to 3.38, which ranks ninth
•    Cambria Gaier is also averaging 2.79 kps and the freshman leads South with 17 aces and is ranked third in the Sun Belt with 0.59 aces per set
•    Gaier is also eighth in the league in points with 3.83 per set
•    On the defensive side of the net, South is second in the Sun Belt with 2.33 blocks per set and ranks third in the league in aces (1.79)
•    Redshirt freshman Alexa Strandberg as the Copley, Ohio, native has 33 total blocks this fall, including 12 solo blocks, and is fifth in the SBC with 1.14 per set
•    Senior libero Briana Wilson is averaging 4.31 digs per set, which ranks fourth in the league

MATCH 9
South Alabama (4-4, 0-0 SBC) vs. Samford (4-4, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Pete Hannah Center)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18
First Serve: 6 p.m. CT
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Watch: None
Social: @SouthAlabamaVB

THE SERIES
All-time series: 26th Meeting (USA, 13-12)
Home: 7-1 | Away: 3-6 | Neutral: 3-5
3-set: 8-4 | 4-set: 3-5 | 5-set: 2-3 
Current Streak: USA 2
Last Meeting: USA, 3-0
Last Time in Birmingham: SAM, 3-0

SERIES NOTES VS. SAMFORD
•    South Alabama and Samford have met 25 previous times in the all-time series
•    With their 3-1 win last season, the Jaguars hold a 13-12 series advantage
•    Samford has also won six of the nine series meetings on its home floor
•    The Bulldogs have won five of the last eight meetings in the series
•    The first series meeting came on Oct. 10, 1987 in Troy, Ala.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
•    Samford (4-4) enters the tournament after going 1-2 last weekend at the Tennessee Invitational
•    The Bulldogs opened the event with a five-set win over Winthrop, but fell in straight sets to both Tennessee and North Alabama
•    SU is paced offensively by the duo of Kaleigh Meritt (4.00 kps) and Ally Cordes (3.40 kps)
•    Samford has already faced one Sun Belt opponent this season, defeating Troy in five sets during the opening weekend

MATCH 10
South Alabama (4-4, 0-0 SBC) vs. UAB (6-3, 0-0 AAC)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Pete Hannah Center)
Date: Friday, Sept. 19
First Serve: 3:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Watch: None
Social: @SouthAlabamaVB

THE SERIES
All-time series: 42nd Meeting (UAB, 23-18)
Home: 6-5 | Away: 9-10 | Neutral: 3-8
3-set: 4-16 | 4-set: 5-2 | 5-set: 1-6 
Current Streak: USA 1
Last Meeting: USA, 3-1
Last Time in Birmingham: USA, 3-1

SERIES NOTES VS. UAB
•    South Alabama and UAB have met 41 previous times in the all-time series
•    The Blazers hold a 23-18 advantage in the series that dates back to the 1974 season
•    Eight of the last 11 series meetings have been decided in straight sets
•    South defeated UAB in four sets last fall on the Blazers' home floor at the Alabama Showdown, and that was just the second meeting between the two in-state clubs in 20 years
•    UAB has won eight of the 11 series meetings on a neutral floor

A QUICK LOOK AT THE BLAZERS
•    UAB (6-3) enters the tournament after taking two of three at Evansville's tournament over the weekend
•    The Blazers picked up wins over the host Aces and Western Illinois, but fell in straight sets to Morehead State
•    Jorda Crook is averaging 3.79 kills and 4.54 points per set
•    Addyson Smock leads the club at the net with 1.12 blocks per set, and as a team, UAB is averaging 2.24 per set

MATCH 11
South Alabama (4-4, 0-0 SBC) vs. Auburn (6-2, 0-0 SEC)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Pete Hannah Center)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 20
First Serve: 3:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: USAJaguars.com
Watch: None
Social: @SouthAlabamaVB

THE SERIES
All-time series: 29th Meeting (AU, 26-12)
Home: 4-7 | Away: 4-9 | Neutral: 4-10
3-set: 2-11 | 4-set: 6-4 | 5-set: 1-4 
Current Streak: AU 9
Last Meeting: AU, 3-1
Last Time in Birmingham: Same

SERIES NOTES VS. AUBURN
•    South Alabama and Auburn have met 38 previous times in the all-time series
•    The Tigers hold a 26-12 edge in the series and have won 10 of the last 11, including nine straight
•    Auburn defeated the Jaguars in four sets last fall at the Alabama Showdown held in Birmingham at UAB
•    A majority of the series meetings (33) came prior to this century as the two clubs have only met five times since 2000
•    Auburn holds a 10-4 series advantage in a neutral setting

A QUICK LOOK AT THE TIGERS
•    Auburn (6-2) enters the tournament after splitting a pair of matches with Florida State in a home-and-home series
•    The Tigers swept the Seminoles on Friday at Neville Arena, but FSU bounced back with a 3-1 victory in Tallahassee on Sunday
•    Offensively, the duo of Lauren Dreves (3.85 kps) Liz Markovska (3.69 kps) have led the Tigers through the first three weeks of the season
•    Alexis Dacosta has been outstanding in the defensive back court as she is averaging 4.62 digs per set
•    As a team, Auburn is averaging 3.10 blocks per set, and are led in the category by Kate Mansfield (1.58) and Grace Havlicek (1.35)

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