University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Team Opens Play the Jaguar Classic
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball team will take its 7-1 record on the road as the Golden Eagles open play in the Jaguar Classic, Sept. 11-12, in Mobile, Ala.
Southern Miss will play host South Alabama at 7 p.m., Friday, followed by matches against Nicholls State and Jackson State on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 3-2 win over in-state rival Mississippi State. Ashley Mell and Lauren Sears paced the team with 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Caitlin Clarke added 13 kills while Kelsea Seymour totaled 18 digs.
Southern Miss has used a balanced attack as six players are averaging over 2.00 kills per set. Clarke, an outside hitter, paces the Eagles with 2.97 per outing, while Mell and Sears are close behind her with 2.73 and 2.41, respectively.
Defensively, Ivanova leads the club with 4.76 digs per set and was selected as the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week earlier in the week after averaging 5.36 digs per set and earning all-tournament honors at the Southern Miss Invitational.
South Alabama enters this weekend's tournament with a 4-3 record after competing in the Georgia Dawg Invitational in Athens, Ga., last weekend. The Jaguars came away with a 3-2 victory over Tennessee State, but fell 3-0 to both Duke and Georgia on Saturday.
Offensively, USA is paced by Juliana Almeida's 3.54 kills per set and Hristina Markova ranks second on the team in the same category, with a 2.75 per set average.
Middle blocker Lindsay Schwartz's 1.23 blocks per set average not only leads the team, but also ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference through the first two weeks of play.
Freshman outside hitter Jennifer Brandt leads Nicholls State offensively with a 2.81 kill per set average. Defensively, Danielle Daigle has been solid in the backcourt as the sophomore libero leads the Southland Conference in digs with 4.96 per set.
Jackson State enters the Jaguar Classic this weekend with a 1-6 record. On Tuesday, the Tigers dropped their home-opener, 3-0, to West Alabama. Brittany Larkin led the way for JSU with nine kills against UWA.
The Tigers' lone win this season came against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where JSU defeated the Lions 3-0. Jackson State has already faced two opponents from the Sun Belt this season, falling in straight sets to Arkansas State and UALR.
Ebonee Dawson leads the team in both kills (55) and kills per set (2.50), while Whitney Nowlin paces the club defensively with 3.59 digs per set.
Tournament Schedule Friday
Jackson State vs. Nicholls State - 4 p.m.
South Alabama vs. Southern Miss - 7 p.m.
Saturday
Southern Miss vs. Jackson State - 10 a.m.
South Alabama vs. Nicholls State - 1 p.m.
Nicholls State vs. Southern Miss - 4 p.m.
South Alabama vs. Jackson State - 7 p.m.
