Returning to Reed Green Coliseum for the first time since Aug. 25, the Southern Miss volleyball team (7-9, 1-2 C-USA) lost to Western Kentucky (12-5, 3-0 C-USA) by a score of 3-2 on Thursday night.

Southern Miss jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first set. However, after being down 21-16 later in the set, Western Kentucky went on a subsequent 9-2 run to come away with a 25-23 victory over the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles evened the contest up with a 25-16 win in set two. The Hilltoppers scored the first point in the set, but the Golden Eagles quickly took the lead and never relinquished it.

Western Kentucky earned the advantage in the third set by winning 25-17, but Southern Miss once again had a response, gaining a 25-22 win over the Hilltoppers in set four.

Southern Miss was unable to get any major momentum in the fifth and final set, however. Though the team did close the deficit to 13-11, an attack error made by senior Kylie Grandy two points later gave the Hilltoppers the 15-11 win in set five and the overall win against the Golden Eagles.

Grandy led the team in kills on the night with 18. Sophomore Chandler Marshall, junior Catherine Repsher and senior Alexis Coombs also had 13, 12 and 10 kills respectively.

In terms of assists, Sarah Bell led all Southern Miss players with 46 on the night. The senior also reached the 1,000-dig mark in her Southern Miss career in the second set and finished the night with 12 total.

Southern Miss returns to action on Sept. 30 when they travel to play Middle Tennessee State. Play in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.