Southern Miss
Marist
Golden Eagle Volleyball Sweeps Marist in Three Sets
9/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ARLINGTON, Texas - Freshman Lydia Bonner recorded a match-high 17 kills on .520 attack percent and senior Halie Ecker added 14 in helping the Southern Miss volleyball team snap a four-match losing streak when the Golden Eagles swept Marist College in three (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) in the UTA Hilton Classic Saturday morning.
Southern Miss (2-6) recorded 46 kills on .337 hitting percentage to go with 47 digs and four aces. Marist (4-5) finished the match with 40 kills, 35 digs and 4.0 team blocks.
Elizabeth Rinaudo and Alex Pfefferle picked up 14 and 13 digs, respectively while Kristen Fleming handed out 40 assists.
Southern Miss opened the first scoring six of the first eight points in taking a 6-2 lead. Marist rallied back to tie the set at 6-6. The teams battled for the next 12 points before USM used a 7-0 run for a 19-12 lead. The Red Foxes cut the lead to 19-15, forcing the Eagles into a timeout. USM responded and finished the set using a 6-3 run for the 25-18 win.
The Golden Eagles' momentum carried into the second set as the USM ran out to an 8-1 lead. The teams traded points over the next possessions before the Eagles got a pair of kills from Ecker and Bonner for a 12-4 lead. Out of a Marist timeout, Rachel Johnson added another kill for USM before the Red Foxes cut the lead to 14-8. The Golden Eagles finished strong in taking the set, 25-18.
The Golden Eagles' offense stalled out of the gate in set three as Marist took an early 5-3 lead. The teams traded points over the next seven possessions before USM scored three straight points to tie the set at 9-9. USM's Hayward and Ecker put down back-to-back kills for the 11-9 lead and force Marist to take a timeout. After the Red Foxes scored a point, USM tacked on three more points in pushing its lead to 14-10. The Eagles' offense came alive and built a 22-16 lead. The teams traded points for the final five possessions as Bonner ended the set with a kill to give USM a 25-19 win.
Kelsey Shaw led Marist with 10 kills while Gena Russo tallied 15 digs. Hanna Stoiberg had 20 assists and eight kills and Audra Brady had 17 assists.
Southern Miss will close out the tournament, facing host UT Arlington at 7 p.m.
