Thursday, December 1
Troy, Ala.
3 PM
Southern Miss
19-11,10-6Sun Belt
3
vs
1
Alabama State (First Round)
20-15,15-1SWAC
1
2
3
4
F
Alabama St.
25
19
18
18
1
Southern Miss.
17
25
25
25
3
Volleyball Survives Alabama State to Open NIVC
12/1/2022 5:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
TROY, Ala. --Â Not even a fire alarm could stop Southern Miss volleyball's comeback win over Alabama State on Thursday afternoon to advance to the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championships. The Golden Eagles 19-11, 10-6 SBC) took down the Lady Hornets (20-15, 15-1 SWAC) 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19) to give them their first postseason win in program history.Â
The win also moved head coach Jenny Hazelwood into a tie for the most wins in program history by a first-year head coach. Hazelwood will have a chance to stand alone when Southern Miss takes on the winner of Troy versus UT Martin later tonight. The second round of the NIVC will tip at 5 p.m. on Friday at Troy Arena.
Set One (Alabama State 25, Southern Miss 17)
Alabama State scored the first two points of the match before First-Team All-Sun Belt player Mia Wesley made her presence known with a big kill. The Hornets and Golden Eagles traded points for much of the set until Alabama State used a series of runs to pull ahead by a couple points. Southern Miss stayed within two or three points and got withing two when Cailin Demps made it 18-16. However, Alabama State closed the set on a 7-1 run to take it 25-17. The Golden Eagles struggled offensively, hitting .143. Cara Atkinson, Demps and Wesley each had three kills.Â
Set Two (Southern Miss 25, Alabama State 19)
Southern Miss fell behind after the first point, but that would be the only time it trailed in the second set. Reagan Leinen and Demps combined with a block to get the momentum back to the Golden Eagles after the Hornets scored out of the break. The Black and Golden went on to build a five-point lead that caused Penny Lucas White to call a timeout. It momentarily stopped the Southern Miss run, but Wesley answered right back. Behind a .316 hitting percentage in the second set, Southern Miss would fight off the Hornets for a 25-19 win.Â
Set Three (Southern Miss 25, Alabama State 18)
One word describes the start of the third set: chaos. With the set tied at 3-3, the fire alarms started to blare in Trojan Arena. Both teams were forced to evacuate and pause play for roughly third minutes. When it was deemed a false alarm, Southern Miss took its opportunity to take control. The Golden Eagles' lead grew to seven when Wesley delivered a kill. The lead increased thanks to another Wesley kill and Alabama State error. The Hornets couldn't answer the Southern Miss success and a Gillian Hidalgo kill gave it a two-set advantage.Â
Set Four (Southern Miss 25, Alabama State 18)Â
Alabama State jumped to a 7-3 lead before Atkinson and Wesley willed Southern Miss back into the set. Four Wesley kills helped swing the score in favor of the Golden Eagles and then a Demps kill gave them the lead for good. Megan Harris followed with a service ace at forced the Lady Hornets to use a timeout. They made it a one-point game at 15-14, but Atkinson and Leinen helped blow the match wide open. Southern Miss ended the final set on a 10-4 run that ended with an Alabama State error.Â
The Golden Eagles hit .248 as a team and benefited from Wesley's .447 hitting clip. She finished with a match-high 21 kills on 38 attempts. Demps added 11 kills, while Atkinson finished with 10. Hidalgo added seven to the scorebook. Kenzie Smith dished out 46 assists to go along with 10 digs to grab a double-double. Harris finished with a team-high 16 digs and chipped in with four assists.Â
Follow @SouthernMissVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates.
The win also moved head coach Jenny Hazelwood into a tie for the most wins in program history by a first-year head coach. Hazelwood will have a chance to stand alone when Southern Miss takes on the winner of Troy versus UT Martin later tonight. The second round of the NIVC will tip at 5 p.m. on Friday at Troy Arena.
Set One (Alabama State 25, Southern Miss 17)
Alabama State scored the first two points of the match before First-Team All-Sun Belt player Mia Wesley made her presence known with a big kill. The Hornets and Golden Eagles traded points for much of the set until Alabama State used a series of runs to pull ahead by a couple points. Southern Miss stayed within two or three points and got withing two when Cailin Demps made it 18-16. However, Alabama State closed the set on a 7-1 run to take it 25-17. The Golden Eagles struggled offensively, hitting .143. Cara Atkinson, Demps and Wesley each had three kills.Â
Set Two (Southern Miss 25, Alabama State 19)
Southern Miss fell behind after the first point, but that would be the only time it trailed in the second set. Reagan Leinen and Demps combined with a block to get the momentum back to the Golden Eagles after the Hornets scored out of the break. The Black and Golden went on to build a five-point lead that caused Penny Lucas White to call a timeout. It momentarily stopped the Southern Miss run, but Wesley answered right back. Behind a .316 hitting percentage in the second set, Southern Miss would fight off the Hornets for a 25-19 win.Â
Set Three (Southern Miss 25, Alabama State 18)
One word describes the start of the third set: chaos. With the set tied at 3-3, the fire alarms started to blare in Trojan Arena. Both teams were forced to evacuate and pause play for roughly third minutes. When it was deemed a false alarm, Southern Miss took its opportunity to take control. The Golden Eagles' lead grew to seven when Wesley delivered a kill. The lead increased thanks to another Wesley kill and Alabama State error. The Hornets couldn't answer the Southern Miss success and a Gillian Hidalgo kill gave it a two-set advantage.Â
Set Four (Southern Miss 25, Alabama State 18)Â
Alabama State jumped to a 7-3 lead before Atkinson and Wesley willed Southern Miss back into the set. Four Wesley kills helped swing the score in favor of the Golden Eagles and then a Demps kill gave them the lead for good. Megan Harris followed with a service ace at forced the Lady Hornets to use a timeout. They made it a one-point game at 15-14, but Atkinson and Leinen helped blow the match wide open. Southern Miss ended the final set on a 10-4 run that ended with an Alabama State error.Â
The Golden Eagles hit .248 as a team and benefited from Wesley's .447 hitting clip. She finished with a match-high 21 kills on 38 attempts. Demps added 11 kills, while Atkinson finished with 10. Hidalgo added seven to the scorebook. Kenzie Smith dished out 46 assists to go along with 10 digs to grab a double-double. Harris finished with a team-high 16 digs and chipped in with four assists.Â
Follow @SouthernMissVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates.
Team Stats
ALST
USM
Kills
41
55
Errors
22
19
Attempts
120
145
Hitting %
.158
.248
Points
55
66
Assists
41
51
Aces
4
4
Blocks
10
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's VolleyballOH
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