Rain Delay No Match for Southern Miss in Home Finale Sweep

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Storms made for a one-hour, 40-minute delay to Southern Miss' final two home matches, but the Golden Eagle beach volleyball team earned a 5-0 victory over Southeastern Louisiana and followed it with a 3-2 nail-biter over New Orleans to sweep the day.

"We're excited to wrap up the homestand, but also not, because we'd love to play here more," head coach Shawn Taylor said. "We had great crowds all season and the fans were into it. We're happy to wrap up on a positive note with two wins. SLU had some different players coming in from indoor, much like we have, and we handled it. UNO brought it tonight, and we really had to step up and dig down and find points."

Kylie Grandy and Abbey Wilson battled from a 13-10 deficit in the final set of the nightcap before rallying for the 17-15 win, improving to 18-11 on the year. The No. 2 and No. 3 duos of Haley Hop/Hallie Phelan and Kellie Garraway/Breleigh Favre also earned their second wins of the day in three-set fashion to account for the others.

"It's always nerve-wracking with losses at the 4 and 5, because you have to win the rest, and especially so when all of those go three sets," Taylor said. "I'm real proud of our players because they've had every opportunity to pack it in, but they keep finding a way. We've moved people around, and I thought Hallie and Haley did well in finding a win at the 2 and Kellie and Bre at the 3."

Each of the Golden Eagles' wins against Southeastern came via straight-sets. It marked the team's fourth shutout but also the first without a blemish.

The Golden Eagles will hit the road this weekend for a jam-packed tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala. Southern Miss will battle No. 4 Florida State and (RV) Tulane on Saturday, followed by No. 7 TCU and No. 3 LSU on Sunday.

Southern Miss 5, Southeastern 0
1. Abbey Wilson/Kylie Grandy (USM) def. Richard, Mikayla/Scuderi, Meagan (SLU) 21-13, 21-17
2. Hallie Phelan/Haley Hop (USM) def. Mirarchi, Michelle/Barosh, Hannah (SLU) 21-13, 21-17
3. Kellie Garraway/Breleigh Favre (USM) def. Hidalgo, Jolie/Hebert, Ariana (SLU) 21-14, 21-14
4. Madison Lawler/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Wilks, Eryn/Calvaruso, Marisa (SLU) 21-14, 21-17
5. Melanie Miller/Kaylie Beck (USM) def. Sackett, Linsey/Snagg, Nylissa (SLU) 21-17, 21-19

Southern Miss 3, New Orleans 2
1. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) def. Veronica Corcoran/Victoria Corcoran (UNO) 21-19, 19-21, 17-15
2. Haley Hop/Hallie Phelan (USM) def. Ally Carr/Maxine Walsh (UNO) 21-19, 17-21, 15-11
3. Kellie Garraway/Breleigh Favre (USM) def. Brianna Vega/Liz Gialanella (UNO) 22-24, 21-14, 15-10
4. Alexa Spartz/Madeline Drake (UNO) def. Madison Lawler/Olivia Hepworth (USM) 21-18, 19-21, 15-10
5. Hannah Volpi/Trinity Jackson (UNO) def. Melanie Miller/Kaylie Beck (USM) 21-15, 21-13
Ext. Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou/Kai Norman (USM) def. Hailey Melerine/Chloe Hampton (UNO) 21-16, 21-17

Rain Delay No Match for Southern Miss in Home Finale Sweep

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Players Mentioned

Kaylie Beck

Breleigh Favre

Kellie Garraway

Kylie Grandy

Olivia Hepworth

Haley Hop

Madison Lawler

Melanie Miller

Kai Norman

Hallie Phelan

Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou

Abbey Wilson