University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Volleyball turning its attention to upcoming conference play
9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Battle-tested and well-traveled, the Southern Miss volleyball team has gone back to practice Tuesday in preparation for its Conference USA slate.
This is the fifth consecutive season, all under head coach Amanda Berkley, that the Golden Eagles (9-6) have entered the league fray with a winning record. From the season-opening, 10th-annual Southern Miss Invitational to last weekend's Badger Classic on arguably the biggest stage in collegiate volleyball, many things were learned.
"When we really play together as a team is when we are most successful," Berkley said. "When we are working really hard to do each individual job for the betterment of the team, that's where we have our most success, and that's what we've done in the matches we've won."
The first big example of that coming to fruition was on the second day of the season when the Golden Eagles rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Little Rock. The following weekend, the team traveled to Mobile and knocked off McNeese (3-1) and Alabama (3-0).
Chandler Marshall, a freshman out of Houston, Texas, is the team leader in kills with 165. She and Madison Lawler got starting nods on Opening Day, the third consecutive year a freshman has earned that distinction. In that matchup against the Crimson Tide, Marshall knocked home 15 kills with a .562 hitting percentage, picking up C-USA Freshman of the Week honors two days later.
But her modesty is what stands out the most.
"The college game has been a little faster than I'm used to, but I think I'm handling it pretty well," she said. "I'm adjusting slowly but surely."
The variety within the team's rotation has been equally as conducive to the team's winning ways.
"We've had some freshmen that have been at that stage of development where they are ready to go," Berkley said. "They've been trained very well and prepared to play right away in Division I. I think it's been really nice to have a few freshman playing but still some upperclassmen who have contributed and come a long way. That's been really beneficial to us too."
The young members of the Black and Gold got a full taste of the high level in a narrow loss to Marquette (23-25, 21-25, 22-25) on Friday night in Wisconsin. The battle of the two Golden Eagle schools did not go in Southern Miss' favor, but coming from the only team that has taken a set from No. 5 Wisconsin, it was surely a positive step.
"I think the match against Marquette was a good one for us," Berkley said. "We really came together and played well against them. They were very physical with 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 players. I think that helped our team realize they could compete with anyone and prepare for conference season."
Berkley also noted after that contest that Kylie Grandy had a good overall performance (13 kills, two errors, 10 digs) and that the team blocked well (11 total, tied for second-most on season).
Another key contributor of late has been senior Kelsey Chambers, who has posted all 37 of her kills in the last eight matches. Not only that, she was the team MVP against No. 5 Wisconsin with five kills and a .357 hitting percentage.
"Because it's my senior year, I just want to give it all I've got and go out with a bang," she said. "We are all fighters. We all want to win."
Southern Miss is home Friday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) against North Texas and UTSA, respectively.
