Volleyball to Showcase Team at Black & Gold Scrimmage

Volleyball to Showcase Team at Black & Gold Scrimmage

8/23/2019 9:35:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Second-year head coach Stephanie Radecki will lead her Southern Miss volleyball team into its 2019 campaign on Friday at 5 p.m. with the annual Black & Gold Scrimmage at Reed Green Coliseum.

With big shoes to fill from departing seniors, the Golden Eagles boast a roster that features 12 new faces. Radecki's team will take on a new identity with the same goal – win a conference championship.

"We have the right mindset and the right attitude," Radecki said. "It's just a matter of building team chemistry every day."

Seniors Ashley Berry and Ashley Chapman join Madison Lawler, Kinsley Hanback, and Kellie Garraway as the five returners from a 2018 team that contended for a Conference USA Championship.

The Golden Eagles lost nearly 75 percent of their offense, but Berry brings back much-needed experience after registering 216 kills in her junior campaign. Hanback, who saw limited action in her freshman season, is also expected to contribute heavily in a young offense.

"Berry is obviously going to be a huge factor," Radecki said. "Last year she was a role player behind our big offensive kids. We're going to need her to take more swings this year. Kinsley has really done some great things this preseason.

"She's hitting a fast, hardball right now. She brings a different angle because she goes off one foot really well."

Lawler and Garraway bring back a defensive presence that accounted for 618 kills last season, while Chapman is expected to contribute on both sides of the ball in her senior campaign. Radecki slotted Chapman into an outside hitter role late in the season and the Alabama native took it in stride.

Radecki named Chapman, Chloe Klusman, and Piper Matsumoto as the 2019 captains. Klusman and Matsumoto are mid-year transfers that played a pivotal roll in the first season of Southern Miss beach volleyball. Klusman, a West Virginia transfer, and Matsumoto, an LIU Brooklyn transfer, will add experience to the roster. Redshirt freshman Lindsey Legg, who also was a mid-year transfer, will play a key defensive role after coming from San Diego State.

"We've seen some great things from our mid-year transfers that played beach," Radecki said. "I think it really helped them coming in early. Piper's doing a great job running the offense and Chloe has been working really hard."

Jacoby Sims, Addie Ashton and Kaile Tuisamatatele will also bring experience to the Golden Eagle locker room. All three have spent time in the collegiate ranks and know what it takes for a team to be successful.

Freshmen Kess Krutsinger, Summer Johnson, Katie Erdmann, Liana Guillemaud, Gillian Hidalgo and Hallie Phelan are all expected to vie for important roles on the floor.

"Our freshmen outsides have done really good things," Radecki said. "Liana and Gillian have done some really good things that we have liked."

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish eighth in the C-USA Preseason Poll, but with so many new faces, that result produces great expectations for Radecki.

"I think that shows respect for our program because Conference USA coaches know that Southern Miss is always competitive and always in a position to compete at a high level," Radecki said. "Knowing that we don't have a lot of players returning, it is kind of nice to be voted in a position that allows us to still go to the conference tournament and compete for a championship."

The Golden Eagles open their home slate of games with the Southern Miss Classic on Sept. 6-7. Single-game and season tickets are on sale via SouthernMissTickets.com, calling 1-800-844-TICK, or visiting the Pat Ferlise Center during normal business hours.