University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Team Hits the Road For Third Tournament
9/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- - The Lady Eagle volleyball team hits the road for their third tournament of the season, the UC Irvine/Nike Invitational, Sept. 7-8. Southern Miss opens play against William & Mary on Friday night at 5 p.m., PT, followed by matches against host UC Irvine at 1 p.m., and No. 5 UCLA at 7 p.m., on Saturday.
Southern Miss (2-5) is coming off a 3-0 win in its home opener against Alcorn State. Morgan Johnson turned in an all-around performance, tallying 10 kills, six digs, four aces and two blocks.
Johnson leads the team with 70 kills, followed closely by Ashley Petrinec with 66. Maia Ivanova leads the team in digs (94) and service aces (11). Freshman Jillian Neave is averaging 11.14 assist per game.
William & Mary (3-2) posted a 2-1 record at the Tribe Invite and earned victories against East Carolina and Southern Illinois. Leading the way for W&M were Jillian Brown and Cassie Crumal, who were both selected to the all-tournament team. Brown averaged 2.90 kills per game, while Crumal dished out 12.25 assists per game.
UC Irvine (6-1) is coming off a 3-2 loss to Loyola Marymount. Kari Pestolesi led the Antearters with 16 kills. The outside hitter also picked up 11 digs and had four total blocks. Lauren Kellerman added 15 kills, 10 digs, two service aces and four total blocks. Middle blocker Kristin Kelley led the team with six block assists and put away 13 kills while setter Taryn Robertson had 46 assists, eight digs, five block assists and six kills for the team. Libero Devon Sutherland led all players with 18 digs.
No. 5 UCLA (4-1) is coming off a 3-0 win over No. 16 Hawai'i in the Hawaiian Airline Wahine Classic. Emily Clements led the Bruins with 12 kills, followed by Ali Daley with 11 and Rachell Johnson added 10. Junior Nellie Spicer was named Most Valuable Player of the Classic after leading the Bruins to the tournament title. Joining Spicer on the All-Tournament Team were Johnson and Daley.
Following the tournament, Southern Miss returns home to host Nicholls State on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., in Reed Green Coliseum. The game has been designated as Hawaiian night. Fans are encouraged to wear Hawaiian style clothing, and prizes will be awarded to those in the best Hawaiian outfits. Leis will also be handed out to everyone in attendance.
