Thursday, November 17
Foley, Ala.
2:30 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Georgia Southern
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Opens SBC Tournament Thursday Against Georgia Southern
11/16/2022 2:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --Â The Southern Miss (18-10, 10-6 SBC) volleyball team opens play in the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Tournament at 2:30 p.m. Thursday against Georgia Southern (15-11, 7-7 SBC). The Golden Eagles claimed the fourth seed in the West, while the Eagles are the fifth seed out of the East. The SBC Tournament is being played at the Foley Sports Complex in Foley, Ala.Â
Southern Miss will make its Sun Belt postseason debut on Thursday after winning 10 conference matches during its inaugural SBC season. The 10 wins put Jenny Hazelwood in second place for most conference years by a first-year head coach in program history. Hazelwood is also tied for second for the most wins by a first-year head coach. Should the Golden Eagles win their tourney opener, Hazelwood will move into a tie for first.Â
Mia Wesley and Cara Atkinson picked up Sun Belt honors yesterday as the conference released regular season awards. Wesley was named First Team All-Sun Belt and Atkinson was named Second Team All-Sun Belt. The two sophomores helped the Golden Eagles close out the regular season with a split at Old Dominion last weekend. Atkinson exploded for a career-high 20 kills in a 3-1 win on Thursday night in Norfolk, Va.Â
Wesley recorded double-digit kills in 25 of her 28 matches and had nine double-doubles. She had six matches with at least five aces, including a career-high eight against Georgia State on Oct. 28. Nationally, Wesley ranks third in aces per set, attacks per set and points. She ranks fourth in total attacks, fifth in total kills, and seventh in points per set. Wesley is second in total service aces.Â
Sophomore libero Megan Harris' 4.21 digs per set ranks her 3rd in the Sun Belt and 103rd nationally. Harris ranks 3rd in total digs (450) among Sun Belt players and 74th in the country. Senior setter Kenzie Smith finished her regular season with 1,128 assists to rank her 2nd in the Sun Belt and 16th nationally among all Division I setters.Â
Georgia Southern owns a 15-11 record with a 7-7 record in conference play.  Georgia Southern owns a 2-4 all-time Sun Belt Tournament record and a 2-2 mark in Foley.Â
The Eagles split its final two matches of the regular season at home last weekend, topping Troy 3-2 Friday and falling to the Trojans 3-1 Saturday. They have lost five of their last six matches.
Outside hitter Emily Jarome was named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-Sun Belt. Jarome ranks sixth in the league in kills (3.76 per set). Ashlynn Lovett ranks 17th in the nation and second in the Sun Belt in aces (0.51 per set). The sophomore leads the Sun Belt in digs (4.35 per set).
The winner advances to play the East's first seed and Sun Belt regular-season champion, James Madison, Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Southern Miss will make its Sun Belt postseason debut on Thursday after winning 10 conference matches during its inaugural SBC season. The 10 wins put Jenny Hazelwood in second place for most conference years by a first-year head coach in program history. Hazelwood is also tied for second for the most wins by a first-year head coach. Should the Golden Eagles win their tourney opener, Hazelwood will move into a tie for first.Â
Mia Wesley and Cara Atkinson picked up Sun Belt honors yesterday as the conference released regular season awards. Wesley was named First Team All-Sun Belt and Atkinson was named Second Team All-Sun Belt. The two sophomores helped the Golden Eagles close out the regular season with a split at Old Dominion last weekend. Atkinson exploded for a career-high 20 kills in a 3-1 win on Thursday night in Norfolk, Va.Â
Wesley recorded double-digit kills in 25 of her 28 matches and had nine double-doubles. She had six matches with at least five aces, including a career-high eight against Georgia State on Oct. 28. Nationally, Wesley ranks third in aces per set, attacks per set and points. She ranks fourth in total attacks, fifth in total kills, and seventh in points per set. Wesley is second in total service aces.Â
Sophomore libero Megan Harris' 4.21 digs per set ranks her 3rd in the Sun Belt and 103rd nationally. Harris ranks 3rd in total digs (450) among Sun Belt players and 74th in the country. Senior setter Kenzie Smith finished her regular season with 1,128 assists to rank her 2nd in the Sun Belt and 16th nationally among all Division I setters.Â
Georgia Southern owns a 15-11 record with a 7-7 record in conference play.  Georgia Southern owns a 2-4 all-time Sun Belt Tournament record and a 2-2 mark in Foley.Â
The Eagles split its final two matches of the regular season at home last weekend, topping Troy 3-2 Friday and falling to the Trojans 3-1 Saturday. They have lost five of their last six matches.
Outside hitter Emily Jarome was named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-Sun Belt. Jarome ranks sixth in the league in kills (3.76 per set). Ashlynn Lovett ranks 17th in the nation and second in the Sun Belt in aces (0.51 per set). The sophomore leads the Sun Belt in digs (4.35 per set).
The winner advances to play the East's first seed and Sun Belt regular-season champion, James Madison, Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
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