USA Volleyball Freshmen Daniel and Lewis Earn Postseason Honors
Freshman Mechell Daniel was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and named to the First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference team on Wednesday. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
Jessica Lewis earned a place on the Second-Team All-Sun Belt Team on Wednesday. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
As the Jaguar women’s volleyball team prepares for their quarterfinal match against Texas-Arlington in the Sun Belt Championships being held in Troy, Alabama the Jags had a pair of freshmen honored.
Freshman opposite side/outside hitter Mechell Daniel was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Year while also picking up first-team All-Conference honors. Fellow freshman outside hitter Jessica Lewis earned second-team All-Sun Belt honors.
The selection were announced Wednesday evening at the Conference’s pre-tournament banquet. The 16-member teams were selected by the 10 conference coaches. Daniel was the first first-team All-SBC team since 1995. This is also the first time since 2000 that the Jags have placed two student-athletes on all-conference teams.
Daniel, a 6’2″ freshman from Chelmsford, England, is only the second player to be named as an individual award winner. The previous was Marei Lirette who named the conference’s Player of the Year. Daniel’s 411 kills are the most ever by a freshman at South Alabama and also ranks as seventh-most in a single season as they head into the conference tournament. She also led the Jags and ranked third in the Sun Belt in both kills (3.83), and points (4.33) per set. Against conference foes she averaged 4.03 kills per set.
Daniel earned 14 double-doubles on the year with 13 of them came against conference foes and posted double figures in kills in 23 of her matches including a career-high 28 against Troy last month. That was her fourth 20-plus match of the season.
Daniel was selected as the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Week on a conference-best four occasions this season and became the first conferecne player to ever be named both the top freshman and offensive player of the week.
Lewis, a Huntsville, Alabama native, came in and ranked fifth in the conference in kills (3.38) and points (3.78). She was also named the SBC Freshman of the week three times, second most to Daniel in the conference. She also earned the honor in back-to-back weeks.
Even though she missed four weeks of the season and 10 matches due to a foot injury but she still managed to record 247 kills. She earned two double-doubles during the season including a career-best 20-kill, 10-dig match in a near upset of regular season champion Western Kentucky. She led the Jags 10-times and posted double figured in 16 of her 18 matches played. She also had eight matches of 15 or more kills.
The fifth-seeded Jaguars will face the fourth-seeded Mavericks of Texas-Arlington at 5pm.
USA Volleyball Opens SBC Tournament On Thursday
The fifth seeded Jaguar women’s volleyball team will open postseason play on Thursday in Troy, Alabama when they take on the fourth seeded Texas-Arlington Mavericks in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championships at 5pm on Thursday.
This is the first appearance by the Jags in the last three season and only one player of the roster has experience in playing in a conference championship event.
The Jags (14-14, 9-9 SBC) finished the season with a 7-2 record over their final nine conference matches and was second only to top seeded Western Kentucky during that span. After opening the conference schedule by going 0-5, they won 9 of their next 13 matches.
Mechell Daniel and Jessica Lewis have combined to earn eight SBC Freshmen of the Week honors this season with Daniel being named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week on November 11.
With 411 kills on the season, Daniel has set the record for most ever by a freshman at USA and ranks seventh all-time for a single season. Of her 14 double-doubles this season, 13 of them have come against Conference foes.
UT-Arlington holds a 2-1 advantage in the series. UTA won in Arlington earlier this season 3-0 but the Jags won their second meeting 3-1 in Mobile. They ended a five-match losing streak last weekend with a 3-1 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and a 3-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday. During their losing streak they lost matches to Troy, USA, WKU, Georgia State and Texas State.
“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,” Jaguar head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. “It’s a special occasion and not everyone gets to go to the conference tournament. On the other hand, I feel we have a group of young ladies that have all been competing for championships before at other levels, so I don’t think that’s anything out of the ordinary for them. This is something that they are familiar with. We’re just going to try to focus on it like any other match.”
“We had a tough test at the net against Georgia State (on Sunday),” Hendrichovsky continued. “Like UTA, they have a very physical presence at the net. I think we have to keep the same type of mentality and approach that we have against any other team. Our game can’t change because of who’s on the other side of the net. We have to control our side. A lot of it will be on our first contact and how we handle that. I want our attackers to keep the same mentality that they’ve had. We’ve played many teams that have a physical presence on the other side of the net. We compete against ourselves every day in practice and we’re third in the conference (in league play) in blocking. So it’s not something we haven’t seen throughout the year.”
Live stats of the matches can be found on the Sun Belt Conference website by going here.
Go Jags
USA Volleyball Split Weekend Matches To End Regular Season
The South Alabama Jaguar Women’s Volleyball team split a pair of weekend matches to round out the regular season.
On Friday, the Jags nearly upset the conference leading Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Freshman Jessica Lewis recorded a career-high 20 kills along with 10 digs for her second career double-double.
The Jags took the match to five games but could not get come away with the win in the last set. Though it did break a nine-consecutive straight-set match wins for the hilltoppers and only the second SBC team to push them to five sets this season.
On Sunday, the Jags closed out the regular season with a 3-1 win on the road against Georgia State to even their overall and conference records.
With the win, the Jags (14-14, 9-9 SBC) clinch the fifth seed in the conference tournament starting next week in Troy, Alabama.
Mechell Daniel led the Jags with 18 kills and 12 digs for her 14th double-double this season with 13 of them coming against Sun Belt foes. Lewis also had 15 kills while Mallory Moore had 10 kills.
Freshman libero Abby Baker had a career day with 26 digs.
Georgia State’s season ends with a 9-23 overall record and a 4-14 record in SBC play.
The Jags will play #4 seeded Texas-Arlington (17-14, 10-8 SBC) in the first round of the SBC Championships in Troy. The match is set to begin at 5pm on Thursday night. This is the Jags first appearance in the tournament since the 2010 season and only the fourth since 2000.
Live stats and web streaming of matches will be available through the conference website. The winner between the Jags and the Mavericks will face the winner of the match between #1 seeded Western Kentucky and #8 seeded host Troy. They play after the Jags at 7:30pm.
Go Jags!
USA Volleyball’s Daniel Earns More SBC Weekly Honors And Makes History
Freshman Mechell Daniel was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season. This is the sixth consecutive week a Jaguar has earned the honor. She also made Sun Belt History by being the first honoree to earn Freshman of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week honors in the same week. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
Mechell Daniel made history on Monday when she earned both Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week and Sun Belt Freshman Player of the Week honors. She is only the fifth Jaguar to earn the offensive player of the week honor.
This is the fourth time Daniel has been named the freshman player of the week and marks the sixth-consecutive week the honor went to a South Alabama Jaguar. This is the first time Daniel has been named the offensive player of the year in her Jaguar career.
In helping to lead the Jaguars to a perfect 3-0 record this week and clinching a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, she recorded a pair of double-doubles and just narrowly missing a third against Troy. For the season she has 12 double-doubles with 11 of them coming against Conference teams.
The Chelmsford, England native currently ranks third in the conference in kills (3.83) and points (4.36), and is tied for sixth in service aces (0.25).
USA Women’s Volleyball will conclude their regular season on the road this weekend with matches at Western kentucky on Friday and Georgia State on Sunday. They will then prepare for the Sun Belt Conference Championships the following weekend at Troy University.
USA Women’s Volleyball Team Clinched SBC Tournment Spot With Win Over ULM
The University of South Alabama women’s Volleyball team clinched a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a 3-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday afternoon at Jag Gym. This will be the program’s first berth since the 2010 season and their 17th overall.
The Jags (13-13 overall, 8-8 SBC) will finish out the regular season next weekend with matches against Sun Belt leader Western Kentucky on Friday and Georgia State on Sunday.
The win on Sunday marks the sixth win of it’s last seven matches to bring momentum into the final week of the regular season. USA is currently in a three-way tie with Lousiana-Lafayette and Texas-Arlington for fourth place in the conference.
Freshman Mechell Daniel earned her 12th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs, this is her 11th against Sun Belt Conference foes. Fellow Freshman Jessica Lewis finished with seven kills and 17 attacks. Mallory Moore, also a freshman, added six kills as well.
ULM fell to 6-26 overall and 2-14 in Sun Belt play.
“I think this is the first time during the conference season that we controlled the match pretty much the whole time,” Jaguar head coach Amy Hendrichovsky stated after the match. “Towards the end of the third set, we made a little change to the lineup and lost a few points, but for the most part, we controlled the match the whole time. Our team was able to be mature and come out with the same focus and same intensity after each break, so that was good to see.”
“Going into this season, it was a goal for us to make the conference tournament, but with the way we are playing right now, we’ve set higher goals,” Hendrichovsky continued. “It’s nice that we didn’t barely get in or back our way in. We actually won our way in and we’re hoping for a decent seed. It could be anybody’s game once you get in the tournament. We’ll now focus on these next two matches and look to gain some momentum.”
The Sun Belt tournament will be held at Troy University on November 21 through November 23.
Jaguar Volleyball Defeats UT-Arlington 3-1
The South Alabama women’s Volleyball team picked up another key conference win with a 3-1 win over Texas-Arlington on Friday afternoon.
The Jags (12-13 overall, 7-8 SBC) has now won five of their last six matches and seven of their last ten. The Jags will end their regular season home schedule on Sunday when they host Louisiana-Monroe.
Jessica Lewis led all players with 17 kills and just missed her second double-double with nine digs. Fellow freshman Mechell Daniel got her 11th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs. Ten of her 11 double-doubles have come against Sun Belt opponents.
UT-Arlington dropped their fourth consecutive match to fall to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in Sun Belt play.
The Jags are sitting in 6th place in the conference currently at 7-8 in the conference. They sit behind a pair of teams at 8-7 in UL-Lafayette and UT-Arlington.
The Jags will round out the regular season on the road with trips to Western Kentucky and Georgia State next weekend befor the Sun Belt Championships begin on November 21 in Troy.
Jags Volleyball Defeat Troy On The Road
Freshman Mechell Daniel was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. She recorded a career-high 28 kills in the win. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
USA freshman Mechell Daniel recorded a career-high 28 kills as the Jaguars volleyball team defeated Troy on the road 3-1.
Daniel finished with eight digs, two block assists and a .400 attack percentage to go along with her 28 kills. The Jags improve to 11-13 overall and 6-8 in Sun Belt play.
The final two matches of the regular season will be at home in Jag Gym as they host Texas-Arlington on Friday at 4pm and then round out the season against Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday at 1pm.
Jessica Lewis and Mallory Moore both recorded double-digit kills, 11 and 10 respectively. Moore also set a career-high with nine block assists. Junior middle blocker Amber Wyatt recorded 10 blocks, two solo and eight assists, for her second double-digit figure of the season.
SBC Volleyball’s Daniel Earns 3rd SBC Freshman Of The Week Honor
Freshman Mechell Daniel was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. This is the fifth consecutive week a Jaguar has earned the honor. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Mechell Daniel was selected as the Sun Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. It also extends the Jaguars streak to five weeks in a row that a Jaguar has earned the Freshman of the Week honor and the seventh overall this year.
Daniel, a native of Chelmsford, England, led the team offensively with 29 kills in her two matches. She hit .329 and averaged 4.14 kills pr game and 4.86 points per set. She led the Jags with 27 digs and 3.86 digs per set while recording a double-double in both matches. Additionally, she had a pair of aces and five total blocks.
Her two double-doubles gives her 10 for the season with nine of them coming against Sun Belt teams.
Prior to this season, the South Alabama volleyball program only had six players chosen to receive a weekly award in the program’s history.
Daniel currently ranks third in the conference in kills (3.69) and points (4.25) and tied for fourth place in service aces (0.28).
The lady Jaguars will face conference rival Troy on Wednesday beginning at 7pm in Troy.
Moore Makes Four Consecutive SBC Freshman Of The Week For USA
Mallory Moore earned her first Freshman of the Week honor to make it four consecutive for USA. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
The University of South Alabama women’s volleyball team had their fourth consecutive Freshman of the Week honoree. Mallory Moore earned her first weekly Sun Belt Conference Honor and the sixth on this season.
Moore joins teammates Mechell Daniel and Jessica Lewis as Jaguar Freshmen of the week honorees this season.
Moore, a Guntersville, Alabama native, helped South Alabama to a pair of wins where she recorded 24 kills for a 2.67 kills per set average while hitting .435 and seven block assists.
USA will host Arkansas State on Friday at 7pm and then travel to Arkansas-Little Rock for a 1pm match on Sunday.
USA Volleyball’s Lewis Earns Back-To-Back Freshman Weekly Honors
Jessica Lewis earned her third Freshman of the Week honor this season and the first back-to-back weekly honor in program history. Photo by Brad Puckett | usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Jessica Lewis earned her third Freshman of the Week honor on Monday. This marks back-to-back weeks she has earned the honor as well.
In all, this is the fifth weekly award for the Jaguar volleyball program and only the 11th time a Jaguar has earned a conference weekly honor in program history. This is the first time in the program’s history that a student-athlete has been honored with weekly honors in consecutive weeks.
Lewis led the Jags with 31 kills and 22 digs over the weekend. She began the weekend with 12 kills and seven digs at Texas-Arlington. Then on Sunday she earned her first double-double with 19 kills and a career high 15 digs at Texas State.
Lewis ranks second on the team and fifth in the conference in kills with 3.19 per set while also ranking seventh in the conference in points with 3.49.
The Jags will host Texas State on Friday at 7pm and Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday at 1pm at Jag Gym.