University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Eagles Travel to Iowa State Challenge
9/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball team (3-0) travels to Ames, Iowa, to play in its second tournament of the season when the Golden Eagles play in the Iowa State Challenge, Sept. 2-3.
On Friday, Sept. 2, the Golden Eagles will square off at 12 p.m., against No. 19 Iowa State before facing Iowa at 4:30 p.m. Southern Miss concludes play against Arizona State on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Gametracker will be available for all matches at www.cyclones.com and will be streamed live online.
Previewing Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 3-0 record after a successful weekend hosting its own Southern Miss Invitational with wins over Chattanooga, Northwestern State and Jackson State. Junior outside hitter Halie Ecker leads the team with 4.40 kills per set as senior middle blockers Sarah Jane (SJ) Bowden and Lauren Sears chip in 2.60 and 2.30 kills per set, respectively. Senior setter Kelsea Seymour paced the Golden Eagle offense with 11.30 assists per set, while senior libero Lisa Knecht has a team-high 4.90 digs per set average. In blocking, Sears owns a team and league-leading 1.60 blocks per set average. As a team, Southern Miss is hitting .231 while holding its opponents to .073, and averaging 14.3 kills per set, 1.1 service aces per set, 17.8 digs per set and 2.70 blocks per set.
Scouting No. 19 Iowa State
The Cyclones come into the tournament with a 3-0 record after defeating Cincinnati, IUPUI and Northern Illinois last weekend. Senior outside hitter Carly Jenson leads the squad with 5.22 kills per set as freshman outside hitter Vicoria Hurtt chips in 3.18 kills per set. Junior setter Alison Landwehr directs the offense with 12.09 assists per set while Kristen Hahn, a transfer from Kentucky, tops the defense with 6.27 digs per set. As a team, Iowa State is hitting .313 with 15.09 kills per set, 1.91 service aces per set, 18.18 digs per set and 1.81 blocks per set.
The Series: Southern Miss vs. Iowa State
This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Scouting Iowa
The Hawkeyes enter the weekend with a 1-2 record after posting a win over Central Michigan and two losses to Saint Louis and Marquette in the Hawkeye Challenge last weekend. Freshman outside hitter Alex Lovell leads the squad with 2.30 kills per set with senior outside hitter Megan Eskew next at 2.29 kills per set. Sophomore setter Nikki Dailey has directed the offense in the first three matches and is averaging 8.21 assists per set while sophomore defensive specialist Bethany Yeager tops the defense with 4.00 digs per set. Senior middle blocker Mallory Husz has tallied 13 total blocks for the squad. As a team, Iowa is hitting .101 with 10.43 kills per set, 13.93 digs per set and 1.86 blocks per set.
The Series: Southern Miss vs. Iowa
This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Scouting Arizona State
The Wildcats come into the weekend with a 2-1 record after posting wins over Denver and UW-Milwaukee before losing to San Jose State last weekend. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Kastl leads the team with 3.45 kills per set as junior middle blocker Erica Wilson contributes 2.82 kills per set. Sophomore setter Sarah McGaffin dishes out 10.18 assists per set and sophomore libero Stephanie Preach picks up a team-high 4.45 digs per set. Wilson heads the blocking list with 1.18 blocks per set. As a team, Arizona State is hitting .213 with 13.09 kills per set, 1.00 service aces per set, 15.09 digs per set and 1.82 blocks per set.
The Series: Southern Miss vs. Arizona State
This will be the first meeting between Southern Miss and Arizona in the sport of women's volleyball.
Next Up
The Golden Eagles remain on the road, traveling to their third tournament of the season when the team heads to the Marquette/Milwaukee Invitational, Sept. 9-10.
