Beach Volleyball Drops Two Matches at the Florida State Beach Bash

Saturday, February 26

Tallahassee, Fla. / Seminole Beach Volleyball Courts

10:45 A.M.

Southern Miss

Tampa

Beach Volleyball Drops Two Matches at the Florida State Beach Bash

2/26/2022 6:19:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Box Score - Tampa (PDF)Box Score - FAU (PDF)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Southern Miss beach volleyball opens the season with two losses to Tampa and No. 13 Florida Atlantic in the Florida State Beach Bash.

In the first match of the day, the Golden Eagles fell to Tampa 5-0. Southern Miss' lineup featured four freshman, with Vanessa Hurnikova and Aleksandra Chudzik composing the No. 2 Pair. Court No. 4 also featured the all-freshman lineup of Taylor Pierce and Reagan Sandlin.

"Tampa is a really solid team and came out ready to play," head coach Shawn Taylor said. "Melanie Miller and Kaylie Beck played loose and were able to get a win at the 6th pairing. Pairs 1-5 were never really able to settle into a really good rhythm and play the way we want to. Again credit to Tampa."

The Black & Gold kept the same lineup for their second game of the day against No. 13 Florida Atlantic. The Sandy Owls won the match 5-0, but not without a fight from the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss took FAU to the third set in two separate matches.

"It was great to play FAU early in the season," said Taylor. "They're a conference foe and reigning champs. I thought we did a much better job across the board of playing relaxed and playing our game. We were in a position to win on courts 2, 4 and 5. Just came up a couple points short."

The No. 2 pairing of Hurnikova and Chudzik lost the third set 15-10 after taking the first and dropping the second. Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou and Kai Norman were the last pair of the day to finish, playing on court No. 5. After losing the first set, the pair rallied to take the second set before falling in the third, 15-11.

Reflecting on the day, Coach Taylor had this to say: "Not the way we'd hoped to start and certainly not the result we wanted, but we are getting better with every set. We will continue to grow and get better, and are looking forward to getting back after it tomorrow."

The Golden Eagles wrap up play tomorrow, Feb. 27. The squad concludes the Florida State Beach Bash with North Florida (8:15 A.M.) and No. 6 TCU (2:30 P.M.). Live stats will be provided by Florida State. Links can be found on the Beach Volleyball schedule.

Tampa 5, Southern Miss Beach Volleyball 0

1. Julia Oswald/Rachel Rosequist (TAMPA) def. Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway (USMBVB) 21-14, 21-9
2. Melissa Elias/Madison Brunick (TAMPA) def. Vanessa Hurnikova/Ola Chudzik (USMBVB) 21-19, 21-14
3. Kiersten Anderson/Payton Brunick (TAMPA) def. Hallie Phelan/Olivia Hepworth (USMBVB) 21-15, 21-17
4. Katie McKiel/Tatiana Gutierrez (TAMPA) def. Taylor Pierce/Reagan Sandlin (USMBVB) 21-12, 21-10
5. Claire Overton/Valerie Rosequist (TAMPA) def. Valeria Siakidou/Kai Norman (USMBVB) 21-16, 21-14
Ext. Melanie Miller/Kaylie Beck (USMBVB) def. Selina Pfuner/Cassidy Ehrie (TAMPA) 21-18, 21-20

#13 Florida Atlantic 5, Southern Miss Beach Volleyball 0

1. Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris (FAU) def. Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway (USMBVB) 21-17, 21-14
2. Courtney Moon/Marketa Svozilova (FAU) def. Vanessa Hurnikova/Ola Chudzik (USMBVB) 21-16, 15-21, 15-10
3. Ellie Austin/Julie Honzovicova (FAU) def. Hallie Phelan/Olivia Hepworth (USMBVB) 21-11, 21-14
4. Jillienne Cangelosi/Christine Jarman (FAU) def. Taylor Pierce/Reagan Sandlin (USMBVB) 21-15, 25-23
5. Maylin Bouffard/Abby Jackson (FAU) def. Valeria Siakidou/Kai Norman (USMBVB) 12-21, 21-18, 15-11