Volleyball Claws Back to Beat Ragin' Cajuns in Five Sets

LAFAYETTE, La. -- The Southern Miss (17-9, 9-5 Sun Belt) volleyball team went into a raucous Earl K. Long Gym on Friday night and walked out with a five-set (25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-9) win to split the weekend series with Louisiana (14-9, 8-6 Sun Belt).

The first set looked destined to set the night up for a repeat of Thursday's match when the two Sun Belt rivals accounted for 42 ties and 18 lead changes in four sets. The Golden Eagles and Ragin' Cajuns battled through nine ties and seven lead changes in the first set before Jenny Hazelwood's team escaped with a 25-20 win.

Southern Miss hit .300 as a team in the first set via 15 kills on 30 attempts. Louisiana bounced back in the second set to take it in rather convincing fashion. The third set, though, was a bit more like the opener. No team led by more than three, until the final three points and nine ties highlighted the story of the set. There were also five lead changes before Louisiana secured a 25-21 win to force a must-win fourth set for Southern Miss.

The Golden Eagles' play in the fourth set laid the foundation for how they played in the final frame. After Cara Atkinson and Cami Hill traded kills to open the set, the Ragin' Cajuns delivered a service error that put the Golden Eagles up for good. They never trailed for the remainder of the match. Southern Miss' lead ballooned to four, then five, and then six to force a Louisiana timeout late in the frame.

The timeout didn't do the Ragin' Cajuns any favors as the Golden Eagles continued to pour it on with one of Mia Wesley's match-high 27 kills. Wesley then delivered a rocket to set up set point, which the Black and Gold secured on the very next play when Emery Judkins was charged for an attack error.

Hazelwood's team opened the fifth set by scoring seven of the first eight points to force a Ragin' Cajun timeout. The home team would trim it four twice, but hey had no answer for a red-hot Southern Miss team. The Golden Eagles received kills from six different players in the fifth set. After showing their offensive prowess for much of the night, Atkinson and Wesley teamed up to deliver a crowd-silencing block to give the Golden Eagles their 17^th win of the season.

Southern Miss had 11 players record at least one kill and had three with eight-plus kills. Gillian Hidalgo finished with 10 kills, and Atkinson had eight. Nyanuer Bidit was highly effective tonight as the senior finished with six kills, five blocks and a .385 hitting percentage.

Senior Kenzie Smith dished out 51 assists to go along with eight digs. Lauren Talbert and Megan Harris each had 12 digs to lead the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles hit .262 as a team and limited Louisiana to a .214 hitting clip.

The Golden Eagles will close out the regular season at Old Dominion on Thursday, Nov. 10 and Friday, Nov. 11. Both matches are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.

Volleyball Claws Back to Beat Ragin' Cajuns in Five Sets

Next Event

Team Stats

Mia Wesley

Gillian Hidalgo

Cara Atkinson

Nyanuer Bidit