Volleyball Team Readies for Marshall and East Carolina
10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball concludes its five-match homestand this weekend with visits from Marshall and East Carolina. The Golden Eagles meet the Herd on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. before facing the Pirates on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
Live stats and live streaming will be available for both matches via a link at SouthernMiss.com through All-Access.
The Golden Eagles improved to 11-9 and 4-5 in conference play with a 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-14) victory over Tulane on Wednesday.
In the last three matches, the Golden Eagles averaged 14.25 kills per set, 13.50 assists per set, 1.00 aces per set, 18.83 digs per set and 2.33 blocks per set. Redshirt Junior Ashley Mell led the squad with 49 kills (4.08 kills per set) and junior setter Kelsea Seymour dished out 143 assists (11.92 assists per set). Junior Lisa Knecht led the team in digs with 62 (5.17 digs per set), while junior Sarah Jane Bowden had a team-best 13 total blocks (1.08 blocks per set).
Marshall enters the weekend with a 9-11 record and 3-5 in league play. The Herd has lost their four matches. Elizabeth Herman leads the Herd attack with 286 (3.86 kps) on .272 hitting percentage. Defensively, libero Dorothy Rahal is averaging 3.03 digs per set. Setter Elizabeth Fleming has recorded 767 assists for a 9.83 per set average.
The Marshall is 8-3 all-time against the Golden Eagles. Marshall won the first match with Southern Miss on Oct. 7, 2005, 3-0 (30-18, 30-25, 30-20). USM won its first match against Marshall on Oct. 15, 2006, 3-2 (29-31, 30-23, 23-30, 30-28, 15-8). The Herd has won the last three matches of the series.
East Carolina heads into the weekend with a 1-19 record overall, including a 0-8 record in the league. Amanda Lutzow leads the team with 141 kills (2.27 kills per set) with Britney Roper right behind with 138 kills (2.00 kps). Setter Kasey Kavanaugh is averaging 7.11 assists per set. The Pirates have lost their last eight matches, most recently, suffering 3-0 losses against SMU and Tulsa.
USM owns a 7-8 record against the Pirates and has won the last four outings. Last season, the Golden Eagles secured two convincing sweeps of the Pirates on Sept. 27 in Greenville and Oct. 25 at home.
The Golden Eagles return to the road for four straight matches beginning with Memphis on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., followed by UAB on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m., and conclude with a match at UTEP (11/5) and UCF (11/7).