MOBILE, Ala. – With the start of the 2010 season less than a week away, USAJaguars.com will conclude its two-part sneak peek of this year’s squad by previewing the setter position and the defensive backcourt.  USA will open the season on Friday when the Jags take on Southern Miss at the Southern Miss Invitational.

SETTERS

The setter position for the Jags should be the most competitive as three players – Jennica Hagberg, Katariina Kananen and Juliana Almeida – vie for time.  This season, South Alabama will use a 6-2 offense, allowing for two setters to split time on the court. 

Hagberg, a junior, started all 30 matches for the Jags at the position a season ago after transferring from Stetson University.  The Niceville, Fla., native did a solid job on the court, recording 978 assists and averaging 9.40 assists per set – both tallies ranked seventh in the Sun Belt.   

“Jennica has handled the competition with Juliana and Katariina very well,” Keshock stated.  “She has maintained her composure and been competitive, but has also been a good teammate at the same time.  Jennica connects very well with our middle hitters and is probably the best of the three setters in that area.  The competition has really helped her as she has improved tremendously as a setter, in her serving and just her overall game.”

Kananen – who missed last season and will have to sit out the first half of this season due some amateurism issues – should contend for immediate time once she regains her eligibility before the start of conference play. 

Even though she was not able to play with the team last season, Kananen did practice and over the spring and summer has continued to develop and impress the coaching staff.

“Katariina is able to fix things very quickly out on the court,” Keshock said.  “Our new assistant (Toni Dimitrov) has really helped her.  He was a setter and has trained other setters the last 15 years.  She is able to do stuff with the ball right now that she wasn’t able to do a year ago, just by him teaching her the next level of setting.   Our other two setters are doing those same things, but she is doing it at a more consistent rate.  Katariina is very calm on the court and takes a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, even at times it doesn’t need to be.  Our team always knows what she is going to bring to the table.”

The Pihitipudas, Finland native was a member of two national high school championship teams during her prep career and also helped lead Finland’s Junior National Team to one gold medal and two silver medal finishes at the Nordic Championships.

In the Jags’ new offense, senior outside hitter Juliana Almeida is set to see time at the position when she is in the back row.

DEFENSIVE BACKCOURT

Like the hitter positions for South Alabama, depth should not be a problem for the defensive backcourt. 

“With Kari (Frazier), Jenna (Hassell) and Chelsea (Noles), we have three players whose sole responsibility is defense,” Keshock said.  “They have been able to get a lot of reps in practice and I think that has really helped them.  When you include Jordan (McMullan), Samia (Salomao) and Val (Podczasy), we have six players that are our primary passers.  In the past we have had just three, so that should help us.  If someone is struggling in that position, we now can rotate someone else in to that spot.”

Frazier has had a strong preseason camp thus far and that has not been missed by Keshock.

“I really look for Kari to be our backcourt captain this season,” Keshock said.  “She has had an outstanding preseason and I’m really proud of her.  She has accepted her leadership role and has matured tremendously.  She has always been a great passer, but what we have worked on with her is being a scrappier defensive player and not letting the balls fall in her area.  That is where the biggest change has been.  She has also helped the defensive players around her by changing the defense in the middle of a rally when she sees something.”

Last season, Frazier split time at both the libero and defensive specialist positions and was third on the club with 2.32 digs per set.  The Baker High School product also led the team in service aces with 29.

One player who has been attributed with really helping the improvement of Frazier this summer is Hassell, a 5-7 newcomer from Niceville High School in Niceville, Fla.

“I have to give credit to Jenna for helping Kari picking up her game,” Keshock noted.  “Jenna is a great passer and a great defensive player.  She has really competed with Kari and pushed her during camp.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).