Volleyball Battles North Texas in C-USA Finale
11/9/2018 9:16:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON, Texas - Just a week after losing to North Texas in straight sets, the Southern Miss volleyball team will get its chance at redemption as they travel to Denton. The Mean Green and Golden Eagles will square off in the Conference USA season finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Southern Miss is locked in at No. 7 for the C-USA Tournament, but North Texas is fighting to break a four-way tie for second place.Â
The last time out
The Golden Eagles opened their road swing on Thursday night against Louisiana Tech, a team they swept not long ago. However, Thursday's game went a little differently after the Lady Techsters jumped to a two-set lead in the blink of an eye. Southern Miss battled back in the third set to avoid the sweep and force a fourth set. Back by Catherine Repsher's breakout night, the Golden Eagles stormed back to take the final three sets to complete the comeback.Â
Repsher finished with 19 kills, a .333 hitting percentage and a service ace. Kylie Grandy also answered with 19 kills and 16 digs. At the net, Alexis Coombs led the way with six blocks, but also smacked 13 kills at a .478 clip. Sarah Bell added 53 helpers with five kills and 18 digs. Cyan Blackdeer and Ashley Chapman both played key roles with six and two kills, respectively. Kinsley Hanback, in her first career start, recorded two kills.Â
Scouting North TexasÂ
The Mean Green sit at 10-3 in C-USA play and 14-15 overall. Last Sunday, they swept the Golden Eagles on Senior Day in Reed Green Coliseum. North Texas is led by Valeria Valerian's 369 kills and 17 service aces. Karley York has a team-high 1,044 assists and 284 digs. At the net, Jordyn Williams has 94 blocks and Sarah Haeussler has 70.Â
Valerian's 3.55 kills per set are a team high and rank eighth in C-USA. The Mean Green's .222 hitting percentage is sixth in C-USA and their 12.62 kills per set rank them in seventh.Â
What's at stakeÂ
Prior to last Sunday's loss to North Texas, the Golden Eagles had won three of the last four meetings and three of the last five. That loss marked the first time this years senior class dropped a game to the Mean Green. The Golden Eagles have already locked up a spot as the No. 7 seed next weekend, but the Mean Green are still playing for a spot within the top of the bracket.Â
Follow @SouthernMissVB on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates throughout the game. The game will not be streamed.Â
Live stats:Â https://bit.ly/2Apzpqh
