Box Score Box score
HAMMOND – Jaclyn Nickels led a balanced South Alabama attack with eight kills while Torlandria Jones and Olivia Mohler added seven kills each to lead the Jaguars to a 25-22, 26-24, 25-19 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday at the University Center.
Jones and Lea Thurm had four blocks each as South Alabama (5-6) recorded six team blocks and held Southeastern (7-6) to a .150 clip from the net. Southeastern, playing in its home opener after playing its first 12 contests on the road, will return to action on Thursday when it faces Southern in a 7 p.m. match.
“We saw an improvement in our offense and that was what we were looking to see tonight,” head coach Julie Langford said. “We had some defensive performances that were solid. Now we have to put all the pieces together. We're progressing as a team. We're seeing improvements on the court in different areas at different times.”
Allison Jones and
Taylor Buckner each came off the bench to pace Southeastern at the net. Jones, a senior, recorded a season-high 15 kills for the Lady Lions while Buckner added 12.
Courtney Donald added nine kills for Southeastern while freshman
Lindsey Young had 32 assists and
Chelsea Barr 21 digs.
Southeastern out-hit USA, .182-.128, in the opening set but never led as the Jaguars took a 14-7 lead on a kill by Jennica Hagberg. Southeastern chipped away at a 24-19 deficit as kills by Buckner and Donald along with an attack error by Thurm closed the gap to 24-22. After a USA timeout, Nickels closed out the opening set with a kill.
Both teams battled through seven ties and five lead changes in the second set before the Jaguars reached set point and a 24-22 lead. Buckner and Jones each recorded kills for Southeastern that knotted the score, but the Lady Lions couldn't claim the set as an attack error and a blocking error gave USA a 2-0 lead.
Southeastern took a 15-12 lead in the third set before a kill by Samia Salomao stopped the spurt and the Jags took the lead behind the serve of Jordan McMullan. A kill by Hagberg gave USA an 18-16 lead and the Jaguars closed out the match with a 7-3 run capped by a block by Jones and Salomao to end the match.
Hagberg posted a double-double for South Alabama with 26 assists and 13 digs while Jenna Hassell led the Jaguars with 18 digs.
South Alabama def. Southeastern La. 25-22, 26-24, 25-19
South Alabama (5-6) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Nickels 8-0-1; Jones 7-1-4; Mohler 7-0-0; Salomao 6-1-2; Thurm 5-0-4; Hagberg 4-1-0; Hassell 0-1-0; Frazier 0-1-0; Totals 37-5-6.0. (Assists) – Hagberg 26. (Dig leaders) – Hassell 18; Hagberg 13; Salomao 10; Frazier 8.
Southeastern La. (7-6) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Jones 15-0-1; Buckner 12-0-0; Donald 9-0-0; Mueller 3-0-2; Dollison 2-1-1; Barr 1-0-0; Krohn 1-0-0; Greer 0-2-0; Totals 43-3-2.0. (Assists) – Young 32. (Dig leaders) – Barr 21; Buckner 9.
