Over the weekend, the Southern Miss volleyball team won three games in the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Tournament.
In four games, the Golden Eagle volleyball team posted wins over Northwestern State, Southern and Nicholls State, but lost to Louisiana Lafayette. Southern Miss defeated Northwestern State 3-1 in four sets, 25-23, 25-23, 19-25
and 25-20.
Quinci Hayward and Stephany Purdue led the way for the Golden Eagles, posting 13 kills. Purdue also added 19 digs, recording her first double-double for the season. Mary Pursell posted a team-best 23 digs followed by Alex Pfefferle with 19, Kelsea Seymour with 13 and Makareta Rademakers added 11. Seymour was very active on both offense and defense as she guided the Golden Eagles, posting 25 assists.
Collectively, Southern Miss had a total of 53 kills with .141 hitting, 49 assists, 98 digs and 11 team blocks. As for the Lady Demons, the Golden Eagles held them to 49 kills, 76 digs and 11 total blocks.
Despite a stellar performance from Quinci Hayward, Southern Miss fell to Louisiana-Lafayette in game two of the tournament Friday night in four sets, 19-25, 25-15, 15-25, 19-25. Hayward posted a team-best 14 kills, while Jasmine Crowell recorded 10 and five blocks.
Pfefferle led the team in digs with 14 followed by Mary Pursell with 11. Kristen Fleming recorded a double-double on the evening, posting 26 assists and 10 digs.
Overall, the Lady Eagles finished the evening with 50 kills on .206 hitting, 57 digs, and nine team blocks. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended the evening with 52 kills on .241 hitting, 12 aces, 53 digs and nine team blocks.
For day two of the tournament on Saturday, the Golden Eagle volleyball team picked up 3-0 victories against both Southern University (25-13, 25-16, 25-12) and Nicholls State (25-19, 25-12, 25-15) in three-sets.
Southern Miss started the game with a strong surge on offense, taking a commanding 8-1 in the first set and never looked back against the Jaguars. Stephany Purdue led the way for the Golden Eagles with a match-best 10 kills followed by Hayward with nine. Fleming and Rademakers combined for 34 assists and Pfefferle added 12 digs.
As a team, Southern Miss collected 38 kills on .262 hitting, 37 digs and two team blocks while the Lady Jaguars totaled 18 kills on .000 hitting, 26 digs and eight team blocks.
In the final game, again Southern Miss dominated the game from the start, scoring 10 of the first 14 points. Nicholls State fought back but it was not enough as the Golden Eagles won the first set. The Lady Eagles dominated the entire second set.
In the third set, Nicholls State went back-and-forth with Southern Miss in the beginning. However, the Lady Eagles took an 18-12 lead and closed the set, winning 25-19. Hayward and Purdue recorded 13 and 12 kills respectively. Pfefferle posted 18 digs and Purdue earned her second double-double with 16 digs.
As for assists, Fleming led the way with 23 followed by Rademakers with 14. Hayward said it was important for the team to win the last two games of the tournament.
“The last two wins helped build our confidence,” Hayward said. “We face three other tough teams this weekend.”
Southern Miss will go on the road Tuesday to take on the University of New Orleans. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
