TROY, Ala. — Fifth-seeded South Alabama volleyball opens postseason play Thursday against fourth-seeded Texas-Arlington in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championships. The match begins at 5 p.m.
The Jaguars are making their first conference tournament appearance in three seasons. Only one player on the roster has previously played in a conference championship event.
Strong Finish to the Regular Season
South Alabama is 14-14 overall and 9-9 in the Sun Belt. After opening conference play 0-5, the Jaguars won nine of their next 13 matches, including a 7-2 record over their final nine league matches. Only top-seeded Western Kentucky had a better record over that stretch.
Freshman Standouts
Freshmen Mechell Daniel and Jessica Lewis have each been named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week multiple times this season. Daniel was also named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 11.
Daniel’s 411 kills are the most ever by a South Alabama freshman and the seventh-highest single-season total in program history. She has 14 double-doubles, 13 of them against Sun Belt opponents.
Series With Texas-Arlington
Texas-Arlington leads the all-time series 2-1. The Mavericks won 3-0 in Arlington earlier this season, and South Alabama won the rematch 3-1 in Mobile.
UTA ended a five-match losing streak last weekend with a 3-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday and a 3-1 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. The skid included losses to Troy, South Alabama, Western Kentucky, Georgia State and Texas State.
Hendrichovsky: ‘We Have to Control Our Side’
South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said the tournament is a valuable experience for her team.
“I think it’s very good for our team to get the experience of playing in the Sun Belt tournament and I’m excited for our players,” Hendrichovsky said. “It’s a special occasion and not everyone gets to go to the conference tournament.”
She added that many of her players have competed for championships at other levels. “We’re just going to try to focus on it like any other match,” she said.
Hendrichovsky compared Texas-Arlington’s size at the net to that of Georgia State, which South Alabama faced Sunday.
“Our game can’t change because of who’s on the other side of the net. We have to control our side,” she said. “A lot of it will be on our first contact and how we handle that.”
She noted that South Alabama ranks third in the Sun Belt in blocking in league play. “So it’s not something we haven’t seen throughout the year,” she said.
Live statistics will be available on the Sun Belt Conference website.
