The Golden Eagles won both matches against Georgia State to improve to 16-8 on the season and 8-4 in the Sun Belt Conference.

Game One (Courtesy of Southern Miss Athletics)

Southern Miss hit .284 as a team to dismantle Georgia State in straight sets to open the series.

The Golden Eagles opened the first set with a 4-0 advantage before the Panthers tied it with a run of their own. However, Southern Miss quickly answered a few points later with a 7-0 run to make it 15-8 on Mia Wesley’s hot streak behind the service line. The Golden Eagles then closed out the set on an 11-2 run that culminated in a Liana Guillemaud kill.

The second set resulted in the same final score, 25-11, but it was all Southern Miss for the entirety of the frame. Wesley smoked five kills in the set and freshman Cailin Demps had four kills. Kenzie Smith and Atkinson each had three kills in the set, which helped the Golden Eagles hit .433 as a team.

Southern Miss took the third set as it halted a Georgia State comeback attempt when Wesley slammed her 13th and final kill of the match.

Wesley finished two service aces shy of a triple-double after adding ten digs with her kill total. Atkinson and Demps each finished with seven kills. Smith finished her night with 27 assists, six kills and four digs.

Game Two 

Southern Miss extended its win streak to four games after deciding the final home match of the season against the Panthers in four sets.

Southern Miss honored the following seniors on senior night: Nyanuer Bidit, Lauren Talbert, Liana Guillemaud, Lindsey Legg, Gillian Hidalgo, Madison Bowles, and Kenzie Smith.

“They have set the standard of what we want to be about as a program and helped assure the culture is what we want it to be, and they have been amazing,” Head Coach Jenny Hazelwood said.

Wesley and Atkinson each led the team in points with 19. Wesley led the Golden Eagles in kills with 15 on three aces, and Atkinson finished with 13 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, four blocks, and four aces.

“It’s really nice to finish our last home series with a win and see the seniors getting in the mix,” Wesley said.

Opening the match, Liana Guillemaud got the crowd rocking on a block at the net. Georgia State then responded with some fire of its own, taking the lead early on at 9-7 on a block.

The Golden Eagles attempted to battle back on a 3-0 run at 17-14, but the Panthers answered back on a 4-0 run.

Southern Miss once again battled back to make things interesting at 23-21, but a soft touch at the net by Georgia State’s Clara Bednarek closed the first set out 25-22.

Early in the second set, Southern Miss grabbed a 7-5 lead on an ace from Wesley. Atkinson then joined the party with two blocks at the net to hold it at 11-9.

Wesley then gave Southern Miss a five-point lead at 16-11 and added her second ace of the set to keep the lead at 20-15. The Golden Eagles closed out the second set comfortably on a 5-0 run from a kill by Cailin Demps.

Georgia State started hot in the third set at 5-2 on three straight aces by the Panthers’ Maren Palmer.

The Golden Eagles clawed back, tying the set at 12 on a kill by Demps on the edge of the backcourt. After staying knotted for a few more points, a Wesley kill, and an Atkinson ace gave Southern Miss breathing room at 19-17.

After trading blows, Southern Miss held on to this two-point lead after a service error by the Panthers for match point at 24-22. Atkinson then closed the set on a kill putting the Golden Eagles up 2-1.

Starting the fourth, Wesley exploded as Southern Miss looked to close the game. Jumping out to a 9-6 lead, Wesley hit back-to-back spikes, leading to a Georgia State timeout. Wesely added another kill to the stat sheet on a soft touch over the net at 12-8.

“I think the middles [middle blockers] did a great job executing and creating more space for me to hit. They did a good job of establishing themselves, and opening up our offense a little bit more in that fourth set, ” Wesley said.

Southern Miss maintained this lead later in the set on consecutive aces from Cara Atkinson at 20-15. Nearing the end of the set, Wesley added her sixth kill, leaping over the net for a spike at 22-19.

Closing the set, Cailin Demps got the crowd out of their seats to set up match points. A Georgia State service error then closed the match as the Golden Eagle stook the set 25-20.

Smith also finished with 36 assists and 14 digs in her final match at the Wellness Center.

Both teams evenly hit on the attack as Southern Miss ended the match by hitting .254 and Georgia State hit .235 as each team posted 48 kills. The Golden Eagles had eight in blocks and service aces on the day.

Southern Miss now gears up for two more series on the road versus Louisiana and Old Dominion before beginning the Sun Belt Tournament on November 16 in Foley, Alabama.

Southern Miss sits third in the Sun Belt West division at 8-4 behind Troy and Texas State, each at 10-2.

“We are all right there, and there are tough matches coming down the stretch. We can only control what we are doing, which is our biggest focus, but it is fun to watch how seeding unfolds, because heading into the tournament, anything can happen. That’s how tight this conference is,” Hazelwood said.