University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Opens Conference USA Play at Houston and Rice
9/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss volleyball team opens its Conference USA slate on Friday, Sept. 23 at Houston. The Golden Eagles meet the Cougars at 7 p.m. in Athletics/Alumni Center. The Golden Eagles then travel cross-town to Rice on Sunday, Sept. 25 to challenge the Owls at 1 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse.
Live stats will be available for both matches via a link at www.SouthernMiss.com.
Golden Eagle Preview
Southern Miss enters the weekend with a 6-6 record after finishing its non-conference schedule with a 2-1 record in the Husky Classic. The squad traveled to Houston on Friday, Sept. 16 and defeated Louisiana Tech, 3-0, then, dropped a 3-1 contest to Houston Baptist. On Saturday, the Golden Eagles concluded tournament play with a 3-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
Southern Miss is averaging 12.65 kills per set while averaging 12.05 assists per set, 0.93 aces per set, 17.58 digs per set and 2.21 blocks per set. Halie Ecker leads the squad with 134 kills (3.19 kps) and Kelsea Seymour paced the offense with 10.02 aps. Lisa Knecht leads the team with 203 digs (4.72 dps). Lauren Sears has a team-leading 16 aces on the year and leads the front row in blocking with 148 total blocks (1.12 bps). Sears and Seymour were named to the all-tournament team last weekend at the Husky Classic.
Scouting the Cougars
Houston is 8-3 heading into its C-USA home opener with the Golden Eagles on Friday, Sept. 23. The Cougars traveled to Rice in their conference opener on Tuesday and came away with a 3-0 win over the Owls. Three Cougars have recorded 100 or more kills on the year led by Katie Norris, Lucy Charuk and Stephanie Nwachukwu with 117 (3.08 kps), 111 (2.85 kps) and 105 (2.84) kills, respectively. Caitlin Ogletree guides the offense as she has dished out 10.51 assists per set. Natalie Keck tops the defense with 4.45 digs per set. In blocking, Charuk is averaging 1.26 blocks per set. As a team, Houston is hitting .235 with 12.74 kills per set, 1.15 service aces per set, 13.67 digs per set and 2.21 blocks per set.
The Series: Southern Miss vs. Houston
Sothern Miss trails the series against Houston 18-5 in a series that dates back to 1997. Houston won the first meeting on Oct. 3, 1992 3-0 (15-6, 15-0, 15-5). Last season, the Golden Eagles lost to Houston in four sets on two occasions, the first on Oct. 9 and then again on Oct. 10. The last time Southern Miss defeated Houston was in the C-USA Tournament on Nov. 20, 2009.
Scouting the Owls
Rice currently sits at 5-7 on the season. The Owls dropped their C-USA opener to Houston on Tuesday in three sets. As a team, Rice is hitting .220 with 12.87 kills per set, 0.74 aces per set, 15.45 digs per set and 1.85 blocks per set. Nancy Cole leads the Owl offensively, averaging 2.66 kills per set. Closely behind are Lizzy Beache and Laurie McNamara at 2.39 kps and 2.36 kps, respectively. Megan Murphy is dishing out 10.40 assists per set while Megan White paces the team with 4.57 digs per set.
The Series: Southern Miss vs. Rice
The Owls are 7-3 all-time against the Golden Eagles. The two squads first met on Oct. 19, 1991 with Rice winning 3-1 (15-3, 15-9, 3-15, 15-12). Last season the two teams split with Rice winning the first matchup, 3-1 (23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25) on Sept. 24 before the Golden Eagles took the second match, 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24) on Sept. 25.
What's Next?
Southern Miss returns home to host Memphis and UAB on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, respectively. These will be the first matches played at home since the opening weekend tournament, Aug. 26-27. The Memphis match is set to begin at 7 p.m. in Reed Green Coliseum while the UAB match is set for 1 p.m.
