University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
East Carolina
Volleyball Claims 3-0 Sweep At East Carolina
9/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The Southern Miss volleyball team improved to 14-3 on the year and 2-1 in Conference USA play in sweeping East Carolina, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-14), Sunday.
Ashley Mell led the offensive attack with 12 kills while Lauren Sears added eight kills, Sarah Jane Bowden and Angela Hlavaty chipped in seven kills apiece. Kelsea Seymour and Lisa Knecht recorded 10 digs each. Southern Miss finished the match out hitting ECU, .241 to .054.
The two teams traded points back-and-forth for two-thirds of the first stanza. Southern Miss took the lead for good scoring four straight points to take a 19-15 lead and then, closed out the set with a 6-3 run for a 25-19 win.
Southern Miss stayed close early in the second set, trailing by just three at 12-9. The Golden Eagles roared back with a 6-1 run to go up 15-13. ECU charged back to tie the set at 16-16. From there, the Eagles buckled down and out scored the ECU 9-5 down the stretch for the 25-21 win.
The Golden Eagles flew out to an 18-8 lead in the third set, taking advantage of ECU's -.024 hitting to keep the Pirates at arm's length in cruising to a 25-14 win.
Southern Miss returns home for the first time since Sept. 5, to face Memphis (Oct. 2) and UAB (Oct. 4) in a weekend C-USA series.
