Beach Volleyball’s season comes to a close in the Sun Belt Championship Tournament.
After earning the third seed with a 4-1 record in conference play to go along with a 16-21 overall record, the Golden Eagles faced off in the Sun Belt Championship Tournament. They battled ULM in their first game of the tournament. Zuzanna Michalska and Abigail Lewis earned the first point of the match for Southern Miss with their 21-14, 21-9 victory. Lustina Corcoz and Y-Nhu Do earned their own 21-16, 21-12 victory to give the Golden Eagles a two-point lead. Jaden White and Margarita Grigoreva sealed Southern Miss’s win with a pair of 21-14 wins. Kitija Martini Adamsone and Giovanna Gurgel Bahia won their match in three games as the Golden Eagles advanced with a 4-1 win.
Battling against Georgia State in the second round, the Golden Eagles fell 5-0 despite narrow matches by duos Laurel Dennis and Sadie McAda, Michalska and Lewis and Gurgel Bahia and Martini Adamsone. Georgia State went on to win the overall tournament.
Now in the loser’s bracket, the Golden Eagles faced off against the College of Charleston. Michalska and Lewis quickly earned a pair of 21-15 victories to put Southern Miss on the board, followed by Corcoz and Y-Nhu with a 23-21, 21-15 set win. Dennis and McAda sealed the game with their 21-18, 21-16 set win and the Golden Eagles survived another game with a 5-0 victory.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington was the next opponent on the docket for Southern Miss. Y-Nhu and Corcoz won the first set of the match with a pair of 21-16 and 21-12 game wins. But the Seahawks took over with four straight set victories, only one of which needed three games to decide. With the 4-1 loss, Southern Miss was officially knocked out of the Sun Belt Tournament.
Looking back on their season, the Golden Eagles started off rough with only three victories in their first twelve games. After losing five straight in the Stetson Spring Invitational to give them a 3-17 record, the Golden Eagles won six straight matches to push them ahead in the standings, including two Sun Belt Conference opponents. They finished the season with a 5-5 push before entering the tournament.
Across all of their matches, the Golden Eagles held an 86-79 game record, with duo Lewis and Michalska leading all duos with a 19-13 record. Sun Belt Conference First Team duo Dennis and McAda followed closely behind with an 18-15 record. Corcoz earned the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year with her 11-18 record.
