University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Team Concludes Spring Season
5/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
May 4, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball team capped off its spring training season by hosting its first sand tournament and enjoying some competition on the sand courts including a fundraiser.
Southern Miss finished the spring season with a 16-4 overall record while participating in three spring tournaments. The Golden Eagles went 6-2 in the LSU tournament posting wins over Louisiana-Lafayette, Southeastern Louisiana and Southern. In their second weekend of competition, the Golden Eagles traveled to Tulane and collected four wins. In the final tournament of the season, Southern Miss went undefeated in the Jackson State tournament with wins over Jackson State, Mississippi State and Southeastern Louisiana.
According to head coach Abbey Sutherland, "All the players improved in various areas of their game. We had a couple of players working hard to come back from injuries they suffered during the fall season."
Several players finished the spring season on high notes. "Liz Rinaudo spent some time at the outside hitter position and worked hard in improving her play there," Sutherland said. "Lisa Knecht had a solid spring as she continued to improve her digging and passing skills. Amelia Hendrickson worked on getting more comfortable in hitting down the line and swinging from the right side. SJ Bowden and Lauren Sears worked on improving their speed and blocking skills while Kelsea Seymour continued her consistency with setting and serving. Ashley Mell worked to improve her offensive power and control. Overall, each player has improved in some aspect of their game."
The Golden Eagles return nine letterwinners from last year's team that finished 19-12. Southern Miss opens the 2011 season hosting its own tournament, Aug. 26-27.
