Volleyball Lands Three on All-Conference USA Team
11/14/2018 1:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Three Southern Miss seniors – Sarah Bell, Kylie Grandy, and Alexis Coombs – have been selected to the All-Conference USA Team.
Bell became a three-time All-Conference USA First Team recipient, while Grandy notched her first career All-Conference USA First Team selection. Coombs' All-Conference USA Second Team selection was the first of her career.
Bell became the Southern Miss all-time career assists leader on Oct. 16, after surpassing Crystal Zane's 4,756 assists. She is also second of all active NCAA Division I setters in career assists. This season, the San Antonio, Texas, native has notched 1,248 assists en route to averaging 10.76 assists per set. Those 10.76 assists rank her second in C-USA. One of Bell's most efficient outings came in a four-set win over Charlotte, where she recorded 55 assists, five kills, 12 digs, three service aces and a .455 hitting percentage. Bell is just the third person in Southern Miss history to have at least 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs.
Grandy, a two-time All-Conference USA Second Team selection, garnered All-Conference USA First Team honors after having a career season. Grandy's 499 kills are a career-high by over a hundred kills, and her .222 hitting percentage is a 21-point increase from her junior season. The Rolesville, N.C., native sits at No. 3 all-time in career kills at Southern Miss with 1,541. Grandy also became one of just a few Golden Eagles to be in the 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs club. A big-game player, Grandy recorded 28 kills in a five-set loss to C-USA Regular Season Champions Rice, and 26 kills in a five-set loss to then-No. 15 Purdue.
The final Golden Eagle to make an appearance on the All-Conference USA Team was senior Alexis Coombs. Coombs' selection to All-Conference USA Second Team came after the senior averaged 1.00 blocks per set, good for sixth in C-USA. Her .374 hitting percentage ties her for second in the conference and has averaged 2.18 kills per set in her senior campaign. The Leesburg, Va., native has set career highs in total kills, hitting percentage, kills per set, blocks and blocks per set. Her best performance came against Marshall, where she had five kills, five blocks and a .737 hitting percentage.
The three All-Conference nominees will hit the court on Friday to take on No. 2 Western Kentucky. At Marshall, the game is slated for 5 p.m. (ET).
