Beach Volleyball Set to Spend Spring Break in California

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Beach Volleyball heads west for a spring break tour of California against some of the nation's top teams.

Southern Miss' journey westward begins in Malibu, Calif. at No. 18 Pepperdine's Malibu Invite on Thursday, March 17. While on the sands of Zuma Beach, the Golden Eagles face the host Waves (Noon CT) and 14th-ranked Long Beach State (4 CT).

After two matches in the Bu, Southern Miss travels southwest to Los Angeles for a twinbill against No. 6 Loyola Marymount on Friday, March 18. The first match is set for Noon (CT) with the second to immediately follow the first.

Last Time Out
The Black & Gold last took the sand in New Orleans at the Tulane Classic. The four-game tourney was the team's first of the year that did not feature a ranked opponent. Over a two-day span, the Golden Eagles faced Houston Baptist, UAB, New Orleans and Nicholls.

The first day of the tournament began against Houston Baptist but was interrupted by a rain delay between the first and second wave of play. After an hour-and-a-half delay, Southern Miss rallied to defeat the Huskies, 3-2. Immediately following the last dual against Houston Baptist, the Golden Eagles took on UAB in a rematch from the prior week.

The schedule of the tournament worked to Southern Miss' disadvantage as the squad was forced to play back-to-back matches with a rain delay in the middle. Between the start of their first match against Houston Baptist and the conclusion of the UAB, over five hours had passed.

This disadvantage did not aid the Golden Eagles in taking down the Blazers as they fell 0-5 in the second match in six days against the C-USA foe.

After a hard-fought first day, Southern Miss looked to rebound against New Orleans and Nicholls. After the day was delayed due to cold weather in the morning, matches resumed with an hour postponement.

The Golden Eagles took on the Privateers of New Orleans first and fell just two points shy in pivotal third court dual. Failing to capitalize on their early 2-0 lead, Southern Miss fell 2-3 to the Privateers, moving to 1-2 at the Tulane Classic.

In the last match of the weekend, the Black & Gold rounded out tourney play against Nicholls. The Colonels program was no match for Southern Miss, who lost only one set in all six flights, leading to a 5-0 clean sweep against the Colonels.

Meet the Matchups
Pepperdine enters the competition with a record of 7-2 in 2022. The Waves are led by fourth-year head coach, Marcio Scioli. During his time at the helm, Scioli has posted a 43-35 record, including two West Coast Conference runner-up finishes in both of his complete seasons with the Waves—2019 & 2021.

Scioli's squad is coming off of a 14-17 2021 season that saw them post a 3-6 record at home. In 2022, the Waves and Golden Eagles have one common opponent, LSU. Both the Waves and Black & Gold were defeated by the Tigers, losing 1-4 and 0-5, respectively.

This weekend's tournament will be the first of the season at home for the Waves. Pepperdine opened 2022 at CSU Bakersfield's Tournament, finishing 3-0. The Waves followed up their 3-0 week with a 2-0 performance at Concordia. After two straight weekends in California, the Waves went coast-to-coast, traveling to South Carolina's Gamecock Grand Slam.

While in Columbia, S.C., Pepperdine finished 2-2, falling to No. 19 South Carolina and No. 5 LSU by scores of 1-4 in each matchup. The Waves return home for a four-game homestand over two weekends.

The Golden Eagles' matchup against Pepperdine is the first between the two programs and Southern Miss' first game in California. First serve is set for Noon (CT), 10 A.M. (PT).

After watching the Waves duke it out against Long Beach State, Southern Miss returns to the sand against LBSU.

The Beach, despite their 1-7 record, enter the weekend ranked 14th in the nation. Each of Long Beach's games have come against the ranked opponents with the lone win coming against No. 17 Stetson, who was ranked 16th at the time.

LBSU is led by eighth-year head coach Mike Campbell. Since taking over in Long Beach, Campbell posted a 114-64 record. Campbell's tenure on the beach has included two national title runner-up seasons in 2015 and 2017.

Last season, the Beach finished 19-14, with a 6-3, 4-5, 9-6 home/away/neutral split. The 2021 season ended with a Big West Conference runner-up finish by Campbell and LBSU.

Since the start of the 2022 season, Long Beach has yet to leave the state of California, playing all eight matches within the state lines. The Malibu Invite will be the second tournament played away from home by the Beach after a trip to Los Angeles two weekends ago.

The matchup between Southern Miss and Long Beach will be the Beach's first against an opponent not ranked by the AVCA's Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll.

The Beach's season has featured matches against No. 1 Southern California (twice, L 0-5 in both), No. 11 Cal (L 2-3), No. 16 Stetson (W 4-1), No. 4 Loyola Marymount (L 2-3), No. 2 UCLA (L 0-5), No. 11 Cal Poly (L 2-3), and No. 8 Stanford (L 2-3). Prior to playing the Golden Eagles, the Beach face No. 18 Pepperdine, the lowest ranked squad on LBSU's schedule.

Duals between Long Beach State and Southern Miss start at 4 P.M. (CT).

After two matches in Malibu, the Golden Eagles travel down the Pacific Coast Highway to the City of Angels for a doubleheader against No. 6 Loyola Marymount.

The Lions enter the weekend 12-1 in 2022, losing only seven sets this season. LMU is led by seventh-year head man John Mayer. Mayer's time in Los Angeles has seen the Lions become a consistent national power.

In 2021, Loyola Marymount finished 31-8 and made the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. The Lions finished 2-2 at the tournament, finishing fourth in the country. The Lions also claimed the West Coast Conference championship over Pepperdine.

Most recently, the Lions finished 4-0 after two days at Cal Poly's Tournament last weekend. All but one match were 5-0 decisions, with the closest coming in a 3-2 victory over the host No. 11 Mustangs.

The Lions also boast wins over No. 11 Cal, No. 17 Stetson and No. 14 Long Beach State by scores of 5-0, 5-0 and 3-2, respectively. The lone blemish on LMU's record came at the hands of LSU on March 6 in what is one of the best duals played this season. In the team's fourth match at the Tiger Beach Challenge, a tournament which Southern Miss also participated, the Lions fell 2-3 against the No. 6 Tigers.

Loyola Marymount has a 3-0 record over common opponents of Southern Miss, of which the Golden Eagles have a record of 0-3. The match between the two squads is the second all-time between the programs.

In their last match, LMU clipped the Golden Eagles 0-5 at the 2021 Florida State Beach Bash on February 28, 2021. The first dual of the doubleheader is set for Friday, March 18 at Noon (CT).

Viewing Options
Live stats will be provided by Pepperdine for the matches against Pepperdine and Long Beach State on Thursday, March 17. Links can be found on the Beach Volleyball schedule at SouthernMiss.com or on Twitter and Instagram @SouthernMissBVB and @southernmissbvb, respectively.

Matches against Loyola Marymount are currently not streamed but updates will be provided on Twitter @SouthernMissBVB and Instagram @southernmissbvb.

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Beach Volleyball Set to Spend Spring Break in California

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