After a hot start, Southern Miss has cooled off recently and have dropped four out of their last five matches, which included their latest loss, a 3-1 match loss to Florida Atlantic on Friday.

The Golden Eagles were out-blocked all match long and fell behind in every set.

The Owls outplayed Southern Miss in nearly every facet of the game.

FAU had 52 kills on a .239 hitting clip, 64 digs and registered 10 team blocks. Southern Miss finished the match with 51 kills on .126 hitting, five aces, 56 digs and seven team blocks.

Southern Miss started out well and went back-and-forth with the Owls in the first set that included six lead changes.

USM took the lead 12-8 before the Owls went on a 6-1 run and they never let up after that.

The match continued to be a back-and-forth contest with Southern Miss finally outlasting FAU, 25-23, taking the all- important first set. The Owls were not discouraged despite losing the first set and snatched the momentum from the match in the second set, dominating their way to a 25-17 match tying win.

The third set was the best chance for Southern Miss to make a comeback, but the Owls fought back from a 14-9 deficit to cut it to 16-15. Southern Miss did not go away quietly and increased their lead to 21-18.

The Owls were just too strong for Southern Miss however and not only fought back to tie the set at 24-24 but took the set 28-26, which was a back-breaker for USM.

In the fourth set, Southern Miss seemed to have lost all hope after the 28-26 loss in the third set, making many costly errors in the fourth. USM was overpowered and lost the match, 25-19.

The Golden Eagles dropped to 1-1 in conference play and 13-5 overall. They take the court again on Tuesday, Sept. 29, against South Alabama in Hattiesburg. The match begins at 6 p.m.