University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Tulane
Beach Volleyball Falls Twice at The Tiger Beach Challenge
3/22/2019 4:15:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, La. - Southern Miss, who were winners of five of its last seven matches, fell in the first two matches of The Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. The Golden Eagles fell 4-1 to Tulane in the morning bout, and then fell 5-0 to No. 19 Georgia State in the afternoon.
Cyan Blackdeer and Olivia Hepworth grabbed their first win together after beating Ellie Leitko and Gabriella Becerra on Tulane in three sets.
Match 1
The Golden Eagles fell to Tulane for the fourth time this season, but it was another close contest. Cyan Blackdeer/Olivia Hepworth erased an early Green Wave lead to tie things at one. The pair erased a first-set loss en route to a three-set win over Leitko/Becerra. Tulane responded with a win in straight sets over Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway at the third pairing. Abbey Wilson/Piper Matsumoto fell in three sets after taking the first set at the second pairing. At the top pairing, Kylie Grandy/Lindsey Legg nearly completed a comeback after taking the second set in convincing fashion, 21-9. However, the Green Wave grabbed the third set to give Tulane a 4-1 win.
Match 2
Georgia State, ranked No. 19 in the country, defeated the Golden Eagles by a 5-0 score on Friday afternoon at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium. Jessica Austin/Madison Lawler lost at the fifth pairing in straight sets. Hepworth/Blackdeer were edged out in a three-set battle at the fourth pairing. The Panthers bounced back from dropping the first set and stole the final two sets. Favre/Garraway fell on court three, which secured a win for Georgia State. Wilson/Matsumoto dropped a close first set by two points and then dropped the second set by only three points. Legg/Grandy also fell in straight sets at the top pairing. In the exhibition match, Lindsey Smith and Kinsley Hanback won in straight sets.
The Golden Eagles fall to 7-15 on season and have two more games tomorrow. They will open against Spring Hill at 10:45 a.m. and then face No. 4 LSU at 5 p.m. The Tigers mark the highest-ranked opponent Southern Miss has ever faced.
Tulane 4, Southern Miss Golden Eagles 1
Pair 1: Kaylie McHugh/Addison Hermstad (TUL) def. Kylie Grandy/Lindsey Legg (USM) 21-13, 9-21, 15-11
Pair 2: Lauren Orlich/Rio Frohoff (TUL) def. Abbey Wilson/Piper Matsumoto (USM) 21-23, 21-19, 16-14
Pair 3: Tarin Mergener/Haley Gibson (TUL) def. Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway (USM) 21-17, 21-7
Pair 4: Cyan Blackdeer/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Ellie Leitko/Gabriella Becerra (TUL) 18-21, 21-17, 15-7
Pair 5: Morgan Esters/Kilani Daane (TUL) def. Jessica Austin/Madison Lawler (USM) 13-21, 21-15, 15-11
Georgia State 5, Southern Miss Golden Eagles 0
Pair 1: Hawes, Eden/Delmonte, Maddy (GSU) def. Kylie Grandy/Lindsey Legg (USM) 21-18, 21-13
Pair 2: Stasevich, Olivia/Bauchert, Ashley (GSU) def. Abbey Wilson/Piper Matsumoto (USM) 25-23, 21-18
Pair 3: Weiner, Brooke/Rantala, Anna (GSU) def. Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway (USM) 21-15, 21-17
Pair 4: Gordon, Maddie/Tresham, Becky (GSU) def. Olivia Hepworth/Cyan Blackdeer (USM) 14-21, 22-20, 15-10
Pair 5: Dorn, Kelly/McGinn, Ashley (GSU) def. Jessica Austin/Madison Lawler (USM) 21-10, 21-6
Exhibition: Lindsey Smith/Kinsley Hanback (USM) def. Johnson, Mattie/Brodbeck, Bekah (GSU) 21-10, 21-15
