MALIBU, Calif. — South Alabama volleyball opened its 2014 season with three losses at the ASICS Classic over the weekend, falling to host Pepperdine in straight sets on Friday before dropping 3-1 decisions to Oral Roberts and Nevada on Saturday.
The Jaguars stayed close in several sets during the tournament but were unable to close them out. The trip marked the first weekend of play for the Sun Belt Conference program.
Pepperdine Takes Opener in Straight Sets
Pepperdine won the opening match 25-22, 25-23, 25-17.
Mechell Daniel led South Alabama with 11 kills. Nikki Gittens added six kills, and Jessica Lewis and Symone Stephenson each finished with five.
Setter Emily Hundt recorded her first double-double of the season with a match-high 16 assists and 12 digs. Libero Jenna Hassell, back from an injury, posted a match-high 15 digs, and Emma Anderson contributed 14 assists.
South Alabama held a 48-36 edge in digs, but Pepperdine served 11 aces to the Jaguars’ six and held USA to a .107 hitting percentage.
Set-by-Set
In the first set, Pepperdine led 7-6 before South Alabama scored six consecutive points. The Waves answered with a six-point run of their own, and with the score tied at 22, a Pepperdine kill started a three-point run that closed out the set.
Pepperdine carried that momentum into the second set, winning six of the first seven points, three of them on aces by Samantha Cash. Trailing 16-10, South Alabama responded with four straight kills from Hundt, Daniel and Mallory Moore and pulled within 18-16. Pepperdine finished the set with a kill to take a 2-0 lead.
The Jaguars jumped in front 4-2 in the third set on an ace by Hassell and kills from Daniel and Moore. The set was tied at 13 before the teams traded points, and Pepperdine then used three South Alabama errors and a kill by Olivia Okoro to build a four-point lead. The Waves held on to finish the sweep.
Saturday Losses to Oral Roberts and Nevada
On Saturday, South Alabama lost 3-1 to Oral Roberts and 3-1 to Nevada.
Hassell, a redshirt senior, moved into third place on the program’s career digs list during the day and now has 1,289 career digs. Lewis, a sophomore outside hitter, totaled 28 kills across the two matches.
Up Next
South Alabama travels to Laramie, Wyo., this weekend for the University of Wyoming Classic, where the Jaguars are scheduled to play three matches against Wyoming, Montana and Ball State.
