The Southern Miss volleyball team (6-4) won one contest against Florida A&M and lost two matches to Florida State and VCU at the Home2Suites Tallahassee Seminole Invitational in Florida on Sept. 7 and 8.
In the first matchup on Sept. 7, Southern Miss defeated Florida A&M in three quick sets by scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-19.
During the first set, the Golden Eagles allowed just 13 points, which tied for their lowest amount allowed this season thus far. The offense also played efficiently, as the Golden Eagles hit .306 for the game. Senior Kylie Grandy led the way for Southern Miss against Florida A&M, recording 13 kills. The team put together 40 kills on 85 attempts overall.
Senior Sarah Bell and sophomore Madison Lawler both made an impact on the team effort, with Lawler adding 14 digs and Bell tacking on another 10. Senior Alexis Coombs also put in her share on the performance, with nine kills and two blocks.
“I feel like we were focused and executed the game plan,” Southern Miss Head Coach Stephanie Radecki said. “Sarah had a great night defensively and our serving was strong.”
On Sep. 8, the Golden Eagles faced Florida State and VCU. The Seminoles ultimately defeated Southern Miss in three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 26-24.
The Seminoles jumped out ahead of the Golden Eagles in the first two sets and did not look back. Southern Miss attempted to make a comeback later in the match, but Florida State held on for the sweep.
In the third set, Southern Miss managed to gain a 23-21 lead following a kill by sophomore Chandler Marshall. However, Florida State tied the set back up at 24-24 and ultimately went on to score the final two points, completing the sweep.
Following her 13-kill performance against FAMU, Grandy led the way for Southern Miss with 14 kills against Florida State. Bell also totaled 31 assists and eight digs.
Overall, the Golden Eagles managed just a .212 hitting percentage while the Seminoles managed a hitting percentage of .379.
Following the loss to Florida State, Southern Miss faced off against Virginia Commonwealth University. The Golden Eagles ultimately dropped their match against VCU in three sets 25-19, 25-18 and 25-22. Lawler led the crew with nine digs, while Grandy, sophomore Chandler Marshall and junior Catherine Repsher each had nine kills against VCU. Bell also had 34 assists. for the team over the three sets.
The Golden Eagles will return to action when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the Crimson-White Tournament. Southern Miss will face Purdue and South Alabama on Sept. 14 and then close out tournament play against Alabama on Sept. 15 at 2 p.m.
