University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball season begins Friday with Southern Miss Invitational
8/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The time has come. The Southern Miss volleyball team has returned to center stage with the 10th-annual Southern Miss Invitational, set for Friday and Saturday in Reed Green Coliseum.
Amanda Berkley enters her fifth year as the head coach and eighth overall at Southern Miss. The squad returns three of its program-record five All-Conference USA selections from a year ago, and has two seniors in Natalie Druhan and Kelsey Chambers. Southern Miss was picked fourth in the preseason poll following a second-place finish last season that marked the fourth consecutive year of improved conference standing, all under Berkley's watch.
The Golden Eagles have won 12 of their last 15 contests in this tournament and hold a 25-6 overall record in the history. Fans can check the team Facebook (Southern Miss Volleyball) and Twitter (@SouthernMissVB) accounts for stat links and other updates on the action.
Tickets for the tournament, season and single matches are available by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com, calling 1-800-844-TICK or stopping by the Pat Ferlise Center on campus during normal business hours.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, 12 p.m. -- Little Rock vs. Miami
Friday, 2 p.m. -- Southern Miss vs. Nicholls
Friday, 5 p.m. -- Jackson State vs. Little Rock
Friday, 7 p.m. -- Southern Miss vs. Miami
Saturday, 10 a.m. -- Miami vs. Nicholls
Saturday, 12 p.m. -- Southern Miss vs. Little Rock (TheScore 1400 AM)
Saturday, 2 p.m. -- Nicholls vs. Jackson State
Saturday, 5 p.m. -- Southern Miss vs. Jackson State
Little Rock
History is on the line this weekend as 30th-year head coach Van Compton holds 499 career wins. Seven of Little Rock's 13 players are newcomers from five countries. The Trojans return their primary setter, junior Taylor Lindberg, and the talented (and lone) senior Marina Avram (246 kills, 34 aces).
The last meeting between the two teams came in a 2003 home Southern Miss win. The series is tied at two-apiece.
Jackson State
The Tigers are seeking their fourth conference title in the last seven years and also look to rebound from an 8-24 record in 2016. With the projected return of right side hitter Madison Wolf as well as outside hitter Markayshia Masani and middle hitter Dayjah Stewart, Jackson State is in good shape to handle some graduation losses.
Rose Washington enters her 16th year as the team's head coach. The Golden Eagles hold a 21-10 advantage in the all-time series, including a 20-match win streak.
Miami (Fla.)
The Hurricanes are coming off a 15-17 campaign (11 wins were away from home), and there are two names that Southern Miss will be aware of. Olga Strantzali and Haley Templeton were each named to the Preseason All-ACC team for the third year in a row. Strantzali led the ACC in total kills, kills per set, service aces and points per set. At the end of regular season, her 4.76 kills per set and 5.37 points per set ranked seventh and ninth in the country, respectively. Templeton was the 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year as well.
Southern Miss fell in the only prior contest between the schools, played in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in 2010. Jose Gandara has been the head coach since the 2013 season and is the second in program history since it returned in 2001.
Nicholls
The Colonels finished 8-24 last season, and despite its top two kill leaders being gone, the next four return. Of those four returners, Emily Weimer and Sydney Lerille are both juniors and the team's top two blockers, so the Nicholls' middle blocker game will be strong. Head coach Tommy Harold enters his fifth season at the school.
Southern Miss has won each of the last 16 head-to-head meetings, with the last defeat coming in 1994. None of those matches went to a fifth set.
