Southern Miss
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UTEP
Volleyball Eagles Clip Miners in Three
11/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2010
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball team captured a three-set win over UTEP (25-14, 25-15, 25-23) Friday night. The Golden Eagles improve to 16-9 and 9-5 in Conference USA while the Miners fall to 12-14 and 4-9 in the league.
Junior outside hitter Ashley Mell led all players with 11 kills while junior middle blocker Lauren Sears connected on 10 of 17 swings to hit .529. Freshman outside hitter Shelby Schacher notched nine kills.
Junior setter Kelsea Seymour dished out 35 assists as junior libero Lisa Knecht led the defense with 18 digs, Mell picked up 13 and Schacher added 10 as Southern Miss out dug UTEP, 58-46.
The two teams traded points to start the set until USM went up 4-2 on back-to-back kills from Sears. The set remained close until Southern Miss extended a 9-8 lead to 15-9 and forced UTEP to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, USM added two more points on a stuff by Mell and a Miner error. The Golden Eagles ended the set on an 8-5 run for a 25-14 win.
UTEP popped out to a 4-1 lead before Southern Miss used a 9-3 run to go up 9-7 in the second set. Three Miner kills gave UTEP the 10-9 lead before Mell knotted the set on a kill. The teams traded kills before USM got three kills and a Miner error for the 15-11 lead. After pushing the lead to 20-15, Southern Miss scored the last five points for the 25-15 victory.
UTEP took the 4-2 lead in the third stanza on a Malia Patterson ace. Southern Miss tied the set on a Sears's kill and two UTEP errors. The teams traded points until Mell and Amelia Hendrickson had back-to-back putaways for the 7-5 lead. The Golden Eagles maintained the lead midway through the set. With the Eagles leading 15-11, UTEP fought back to tie the set at 15-15. Following a Miner error and two kills, USM led 18-15. A 20-16 lead forced the Miners to take a timeout. Out of the time, UTEP scored three points, forcing the Eagles to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, UTEP got consecutive kills from Jeane Horton and Bridget Logan to tie the set at 21-21. After trading points, UTEP tied the set at 23-23 before the Eagles ended the match on a Schacher kill and a block by Sears and Mell for a 25-23 win.
Southern Miss continues its road trip traveling to UCF for a match Sunday at 12 p.m. The contest will air live on the Bright House Sports Network.
