Southern Miss
2-0
Alcorn State
0-2
Southern Miss Sweeps Day Two of Southern Miss Classic
8/25/2018 9:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss volleyball team concluded the Southern Miss Classic on a high note, sweeping East Carolina in three sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-15). The win came after the Golden Eagles were able to knock off a pesky Alcorn State team in four sets (25-17, 25-13, 23-25, 25-13).
Kylie Grandy took home MVP honors at the Southern Miss Classic with 38 kills and a .413 hitting percentage. Catherine Repsher and Sarah Bell earned All-Tournament Team honors as they recorded 33 kills and 106 assists, respectively.
Alcorn State Â
In an early morning battle, Southern Miss got out to a hot start against Alcorn State. The Braves were welcomed to the Grandy show when she ripped a ball into the heart of Alcorn State's formation. From there, the Golden Eagles traded points with the Braves to build an 11-6 lead. Southern Miss was unable to finish things quickly and had to rely on a Repsher kill to jumpstart a 10-6 run to close out the first set.
The second set got off to a similar start that saw Southern Miss open with a kill by Grandy. Alcorn State answered right back with a kill of their own and forced some pressure. The Golden Eagles recorded the next two points, but the Braves answered back with three more points. Southern Miss exploded to score 14 of the games last 17 points. Madison Lawler served the last six points, which included four Alcorn State attack errors and a Lawler ace.
Up 2-0 and needing just one more set to win, the Golden Eagles shuffled around the playing rotation. The shuffle let Cyan Blackdeer show the Southern Miss faithful what she is capable of. Blackdeer recorded a massive block early in the set to go up 2-1. Breleigh Favre and Dani Ajayi also made an early impact in the third set by adding a pair of kills to their stat line. However, a Southern Miss lead vanished late in the set and Alcorn State scored five of the last six points to snag a 25-23 win.
The Golden Eagles faced their first four-set game of the season and came out hot to end it. Grandy recorded a kill to put Southern Miss up 6-2 and then Alcorn State was able to chip away at the lead, though the closest they got was within three. Southern Miss went on to outscore the Braves 17-8 to close out the win.
Repsher led the squad with 12 kills and a .750 hitting percentage. Grandy wasn't far behind with 11 kills and 11 digs. Lawler posted a team-high 13 digs and Bell had a game-high 28 assists.
East Carolina
Two words described Southern Miss heading into Saturday's tilt against ECU – on fire. The Golden Eagles handled Alcorn State in the morning and came out firing in the first set against the Pirates. Stepping up all weekend, Repsher continued her hot streak and opened things with a massive kill. From there, the Golden Eagles traded points with ECU until the latter stages of the set. Southern Miss used another Repsher kill to go on a 5-2 run to secure a win in set one.
The second set started with Chandler Marshall and Repsher ripping back-to-back kills to help jump out to an early lead. A few more kills by Repsher and an error on ECU extended the Southern Miss lead. ECU quickly fell behind by as many as nine, ultimately failing to recover. Grandy took matters into her own hands and slammed the door on ECU's hopes of winning set two with a kill.
Searching for their second sweep of the weekend, the Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. However, the Pirates responded with their own 3-0 run to tie it. Although Southern Miss also responded, ECU played a little game of anything you can do, I can do. Southern Miss responded once again and went peddle to the metal with a 10-1 run to secure the sweep.
Grandy and Repsher combined for 30 kills on 54 attempts. Bell added 41 assists and 14 digs to up her season total to 106 assists.
Coach Radecki's Wraps up Southern Miss Classic
"I thought the girls played really well. I definitely think we were a lot more consistent against East Carolina, which is great because you want the girls getting better every time they step on the floor. I was really pleased with how well they passed the ball and we had been talking all week about that. I know the potential that they have, but I was just really proud of Cat Repsher because of how she stepped up and was able to find the court so successfully. We really just need to continue to work on our passing footwork and I just think our staff trains it a lot differently, so it's just a transition for them. I hope they're slowly seeing success from that and then they can continue to improve on that.
"It was exciting to play in this arena for the first time and I think our staff does a great job of creating a cool atmosphere for our players. I thought that was really fun and it was neat to see it all in action. It's fun to be a part of Southern Miss."
