MIAMI ? The eighth-seeded South Alabama volleyball team will open up play at the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Tournament when it takes on top-seeded and tournament host Florida International on Thursday. First serve is set for Noon (ET) at FIU Arena.
“One of our goals this season was to get to the conference tournament this season,” South Alabama head coach Nicole Keshock said. “We didn’t do it exactly the way we had planned. We would have rather created our own path here instead of being a bubble team at the end. Regardless, we are very excited to have made it. The team has had a great week of practice. I am very happy for our seniors who have had the goal of us getting here. For them to see us finally get here is great. I think also means a lot for our program. I have always felt that once we were able to get to the tournament that it could hopefully start to become a tradition and become a good habit, instead of always wondering what it would be like.”
Live stats and the web cast for all tournament games can be accessed at the league’s web site, www.sunbeltsports.org. Fans can click on the tournament page link to access complete tournament information. The web cast can be purchased for $9.95 from the Sun Belt’s web site.
South Alabama (11-14, 5-12 SBC) enters its opening round match of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Thursday against top-seeded Florida International after capturing the eighth seed.
The appearance for the Jags is the first for the program since the 2001 season. This past weekend, USA dropped both its matches to Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, but still earned a berth in the conference tournament due to losses by Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas and Florida Atlantic. Both the Jags and the Owls ended the regular season with identical records, but USA picked up the final spot in the tournament due to the tiebreaker.
Offensively, USA is paced by Juliana Pallamin de Almeida and Hristina Markova who are each averaging 2.45 kills per set. Freshman Lindsay Schwartz (2.10 kps) is also averaging over two kills per set.
Schwartz and senior middle blocker Brittany Blackwelder rank as two of the top blockers in the conference. Coming into action this weekend, the duo ranks third and 10th in the Sun Belt, respectively, in blocks per set. Schwartz enters the match averaging a team-best 1.12 per set, while Blackwelder sits at 0.93 bps. As a team, USA ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in blocks per set at 2.21.
Setter Maria Kashavelova ranks 10th in the league in service aces.
Florida International comes into the match versus the Jags after capturing the East Division title with a 3-0 sweep of Florida Atlantic on Saturday. The Golden Panthers are 26-5 overall and a 15-2 in Sun Belt play. Against the Owls, senior outside hitter Yarimar Rosa led the way with 15 kills and a.440 hitting percentage. Isadora Rangel also finished the afternoon in double digits with 13 kills of her own.
This season, Rosa has been the top offensive weapons in the league and the nation. The junior leads not only the Sun Belt but the nation in kills per set with an astounding 5.27 per set. Rangel has also been very effective for the Golden Panthers as she comes in at 2.95 per set.
“Taking on FIU at their place will be tough,” Keshock said of the first round opponent. “They are the top seed for a reason and have been playing better and better as the year has progressed. The last time we played them though, I was really proud of how we competed with them for two sets and I hope that we do that again tomorrow and we will see what happens.”
As a team, Florida International ranks second in the conference in opponent’s hitting percentage, allowing them to hit just .173. FIU also ranks second in service aces with 1.62 per set and fourth in digs with 13.58 per set.
The meeting between South Alabama and Florida International in the opening round of the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be the 21st in the all-time series on Thursday. FIU holds a 15-4-1 lead in the all-time series, taking both meetings this season. South Alabama’s last win in the series came back during the 2004 season, when the Jags defeated the Golden Panthers 3-2 in Miami. USA and FIU have met once in postseason play, with the Golden Panthers defeating the Jags in the 1999 SBC Tournament held in Bowling Green, Ky.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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