Friday, January 22
Hattiesburg, Miss.
2 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Tulane
Volleyball Commences Spring Season Friday, Saturday at Home
1/21/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- Southern Miss got a couple of matches in during the fall, winning both against Louisiana Tech, and now it will dive into the fuller spring campaign with matches Friday and Saturday against Tulane and New Orleans, respectively, inside the Wellness Center.
Both are set for 2 p.m. and closed to the general public, but free streaming is available on CUSA.tv. Tulane and UNO will also face each other at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The first of those matchups with LA Tech saw three lopsided sets after dropping the first (22-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-14), with the nightcap also coming by a 3-1 margin (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-12).
Duquesne Moratzka made a sizeable impact in her Golden Eagle debut. The former offensive and defensive standout for Idaho State averaged 3.88 kills per set and added 18 digs for the day. Lauren Talbert, who starred in the Big South for Presbyterian, also had 2.75 kills/set. Â
"I definitely think our new players have stepped up and filled some key roles," head coach Stephanie Radecki said. "We saw Duquesne really dominate in the matches against LA Tech, and that was nice to see. That's the main thing we got to see in the fall in playing those two matches that we hope to have in the spring."
Senior Piper Matsumoto and Kansas State transfer Kenzie Smith split setter duties in the fall, with the two combining for seven kills and a .261 hitting percentage.
Several veterans return for the Golden Eagles, namely senior and defensive stalwart Madison Lawler, who led the squad in digs over the LA Tech doubleheader. Other newcomers who got on the map over the fall were freshman Aliah Giroux and junior Nyanuer Bidit.
"We felt really fortunate this fall," Radecki said. "We got to train a lot more than we ever thought we would. Not having a season in the fall was obviously frustrating, but we had more chances to train and develop as a whole. Without many matches, we didn't get a chance to see how we'd respond to other teams, but we did get our non-championship training in before we were able to play. That was really helpful for where our program is now. It allowed our setters to get better connections with our hitters and for our defense to improve.Â
"Everyone did an amazing job at staying focused on getting better daily, even with the highs and lows of what's happening in athletics and the world right now. They took advantage of the time together and training."
Tulane earned two first-place votes in the American's West Division preseason poll after finishing 22-11 last season. Senior Lexie Douglas and junior Kayla Dinkins also earned preseason All-AAC nods. New Orleans was 13-18 last year and is picked ninth in the Southland. The Privateers return seven letterwinners, including preseason All-Conference sophomore Lucie Pokorna.
Both are set for 2 p.m. and closed to the general public, but free streaming is available on CUSA.tv. Tulane and UNO will also face each other at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The first of those matchups with LA Tech saw three lopsided sets after dropping the first (22-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-14), with the nightcap also coming by a 3-1 margin (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-12).
Duquesne Moratzka made a sizeable impact in her Golden Eagle debut. The former offensive and defensive standout for Idaho State averaged 3.88 kills per set and added 18 digs for the day. Lauren Talbert, who starred in the Big South for Presbyterian, also had 2.75 kills/set. Â
"I definitely think our new players have stepped up and filled some key roles," head coach Stephanie Radecki said. "We saw Duquesne really dominate in the matches against LA Tech, and that was nice to see. That's the main thing we got to see in the fall in playing those two matches that we hope to have in the spring."
Senior Piper Matsumoto and Kansas State transfer Kenzie Smith split setter duties in the fall, with the two combining for seven kills and a .261 hitting percentage.
Several veterans return for the Golden Eagles, namely senior and defensive stalwart Madison Lawler, who led the squad in digs over the LA Tech doubleheader. Other newcomers who got on the map over the fall were freshman Aliah Giroux and junior Nyanuer Bidit.
"We felt really fortunate this fall," Radecki said. "We got to train a lot more than we ever thought we would. Not having a season in the fall was obviously frustrating, but we had more chances to train and develop as a whole. Without many matches, we didn't get a chance to see how we'd respond to other teams, but we did get our non-championship training in before we were able to play. That was really helpful for where our program is now. It allowed our setters to get better connections with our hitters and for our defense to improve.Â
"Everyone did an amazing job at staying focused on getting better daily, even with the highs and lows of what's happening in athletics and the world right now. They took advantage of the time together and training."
Tulane earned two first-place votes in the American's West Division preseason poll after finishing 22-11 last season. Senior Lexie Douglas and junior Kayla Dinkins also earned preseason All-AAC nods. New Orleans was 13-18 last year and is picked ninth in the Southland. The Privateers return seven letterwinners, including preseason All-Conference sophomore Lucie Pokorna.
Players Mentioned
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