University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Nicholls State
Volleyball Team Defeats Nicholls State, 3-1
9/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2009
THIBODAUX, La. - Southern Miss used a balanced attack with six players recording six or more kills in defeating Nicholls State, 3-1 (25-10, 22-25, 26-24, 25-18), in volleyball action Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles improved to 3-1 while Nicholls State fell to 0-4. Sarah Jane Bowden, Lauren Sears and Caitlin Clarke tallied nine kills apiece with Ashley Mell adding eight. Maia Ivanova recorded a team-high 15 digs and Kelsea Seymour added 13 digs to go with 33 assists.
Jennifer Brandt led Nicholls with a match-high 20 kills and Rachel Spreen chipped in 10 kills.
Southern Miss out hit the Colonels, .302 to .165 and recorded six aces.
The Golden Eagles broke a 3-3 tie with a 13-2 run to take a commanding lead in set one on their way to a 25-11 win.
Nicholls bounced back to take set two, 25-22. The Colonels jumped out to an early 8-3 lead before Southern Miss rallied to tie the set an 11-11. The set was tied eight more times with the last coming at 19-19. Nicholls then outscored Southern Miss, 5-3, down the stretch to take the second set.
Set three featured nine ties and five lead changes before the Golden Eagles edged Nicholls, 26-24.
Both teams battled back and forth to start the fourth set. Southern Miss was able to score five consecutive points to take a 14-9 advantage. Nicholls rallied to tie the set a 17-17 before the Golden Eagles closed out the set and match on an 8-1 run.
Southern Miss now returns home to host the Southern Miss La Quinta Inn Invitational, Sept. 4-5. Teams included are Jacksonville, Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston State. Action gets underway Friday at 1 p.m., with Southern Miss taking on Sam Houston State followed by Louisiana Tech and Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m., and Southern Miss and Jacksonville concluding the first day at 7 p.m. All four teams will be in action again on Saturday with Sam Houston State and Louisiana Tech at 9 a.m., followed by Jacksonville and Sam Houston State at 11:30 a.m., and Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech at 2 p.m., to close out the tournament.
