MURFEESBORO, Tenn. ? The South Alabama volleyball team will take to the road this weekend for a pair of tough road matches against East Division leaders Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Both clubs rank first and second, respectively, in the division. USA will face the Blue Raiders on Friday at 7 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Gym and then face the Lady Toppers on Saturday at 2 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Live stats for Friday’s match against Middle Tennessee can be accessed at www.goblueraiders.com, while live stats for Saturday’s match against Western Kentucky can be accessed at www.wkusportss.com. Fans will also be able to access live streaming of the match versus the Lady Toppers at www.wkusports.tv.
South Alabama (9-15, 3-10 Sun Belt) comes in to the two road matches after dropping a tough 3-2 decision Troy on Saturday. Against the Trojans, USA held a 2-1 lead in the match only to see Troy take the final two games and pick up the win.
Three Jags continue to lead the offensive attack as Hristina Markova (3.39), Juliana Pallamin de Almeida (3.08) and Brittany Blackwelder (3.00) are all averaging over three kills per game. Both Markova and Blackwelder have been just as valuable in conference matches as the duo is averaging 3.38 and 3.11 kills per game in league play.
On the defensive side of the net, Blackwelder leads the club with 1.06 blocks per game, while senior libero Shannon VanAntwerp tops the team with 4.26 digs per game. Entering play this week, both VanAnterp and Blackwelder rank seventh and eighth in the conference in their respective categories.
Middle Tennessee (26-2, 13-1 SBC) enters the match versus the Jags leading the East Division by one full game. This past weekend, Middle Tennessee extended it current win-streak to five picking up wins over Florida Atlantic and Florida International. The Blue Raiders lone league loss this season came to Western Kentucky in Bowling Green.
As a team, Middle Tennessee leads the Sun Belt in assists per game (15.44), blocks per game (3.3) and hitting percentage (.290). On a national scale, the Blue Raiders rank 13th in assists per game and seventh in both blocks per game and hitting percentage.
Individually, sophomore setter Leslie Clark ranks sixth in the nation in assists per game with 13.79 per game, while Ashley Asberry ranks 14th nationally with a .402 hitting percentage. Asberry’s 1.51 blocks per game also places the junior middle blocker 20th in the nation in that category. Junior opposite side hitter Ashley Adams ranks second in the SBC with 4.57 kills per game
The meeting between South Alabama and Middle Tennessee will be the 11th all-time in the series. The Blue Raiders have dominated the series to this point capturing all 10 previous meetings. Earlier this season, Middle Tennessee defeated South Alabama 3-0 in Mobile.
Western Kentucky comes into play this weekend second in the East Division with a 23-6 overall mark and a 12-2 record in conference play. This past weekend, the Lady Toppers split its meetings with FIU and FAU. On Friday, WKU fell 3-0 to the Golden Panthers at home, but bounced back with a 3-0 win over the Owls on Saturday.
Megan Argabright’s 4.09 kpg leads the club, while junior setter Julia Noe ranks 25th nationally with 12.63 assists per game. Aquilla Orr also comes in on the national charts as she ranks 20th with a .384 hitting percentage. In the SBC, Orr is also one of four Lady Topper players to rank in the Top 10 in that same category.
Senior middle blocker Jenna Gideon, who leads the club with 1.04 blocks per game, has missed the last three matches for WKU and her status has yet to be determined.
As a team, WKU ranks ninth nationally in hitting percentage (.280) and 16th in both assists per game (15.2) and kills per game (16.5).
The meeting this weekend between South Alabama and Western Kentucky will be 37th in the all-time series between the two programs. WKU holds a huge advantage in the series with a 27-9 edge. Western Kentucky has also won the last 15 meetings in the series. The last time USA was victorious was during the 1995 season when the Lady Jags won 3-1 in Mobile.
