Golden Eagles Fall in Hard-Fought Battle at WKU

Sunday, September 29

Bowling Green, KY

12 p.m. CT

Southern Miss

-014; 02 CUSA

WKU

-151; 10 CUSA

Southern Miss

WKU

Golden Eagles Fall in Hard-Fought Battle at WKU

9/29/2019 2:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Southern Miss (0-14, 0-2 C-USA) women's volleyball team fell in straight sets (23-25, 18-25, 17-25) at WKU (15-1, 1-0 C-USA) on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Toppers now have an NCAA-best 15 wins this season.

The Golden Eagles opened the first set with a 3-1 lead, but the Lady Toppers quickly struck back each time Southern Miss built a lead. That narrative was a mainstay in the first set as WKU and Southern Miss were deadlocked 12 times and traded the lead six times.

The Lady Toppers used a 4-1 run to close out a first set that ended with the Golden Eagles falling by two points, 25-23. The second set went much like the previous set, but this time WKU pulled away after the two teams were tied 10-10. A kill by WKU's Lauren Matthews opened an 11-2 run that put the Golden Eagles down eight. Piper Matsumoto dumped one of her five kills into the WKU side that sparked a 6-1 run to pull Southern Miss back within three, but the Lady Toppers responded with four consecutive points to take a two-set lead.

The third set opened with another Southern Miss lead, but once again, WKU responded with a run to regain the lead. WKU, a team that Southern Miss beat at the C-USA Championships last season for the first time since 1988, would get the best of the Golden Eagles after a 25-17 win in the third set.

Sophomore Kinsley Hanback recorded a career-high nine kills on 24 attempts and freshman Gillian Hidalgo smacked eight kills on 29 attempts. Katie Erdmann led the Golden Eagles with a .375 hitting percentage on 16 attempts and seven kills.

Matsumoto added 24 assists and seven digs to go along with her five kills. Defensively, Kess Krutsinger swatted four WKU attacks and Madison Lawler had a game-high 12 digs.

Next up
The Golden Eagles return home to face Alabama State on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. inside Reed Green Coliseum.

For all of the latest Southern Miss volleyball news, fans can follow the official Southern Miss volleyball Twitter account (@SouthernMissVB), Instagram account (@southernmissvb) and Facebook account (Southern Miss Volleyball).

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