Beach Volleyball Returns Home After Seven Matches in California

Sunday, March 20

San Luis Obispo, Calif. / Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex

11 A.M.

Southern Miss

No. 12 Cal Poly

Beach Volleyball Returns Home After Seven Matches in California

3/20/2022 11:22:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Box Score - Cal Poly (PDF)Box Score - Cal (PDF)Box Score - Santa Clara (PDF)

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Beach Volleyball finishes 0-3 at the Cal Poly Tournament, fall to 3-17 on the year.

"The California trip has been huge for us," said Southern Miss head coach Shawn Taylor. "Often when we make investments, we want to see immediate returns. Obviously, we did not get the immediate returns in regard to wins, but I do think this helps us push the program forward and sets us up for success to come.

Every team we faced was consistently good and made great adjustments. We had the opportunity to have one of the great coaches of all time in Marv Dunphy chat with the team. One of his points was, win or lose, there are always lessons to be learned."

No. 12 Cal Poly 5, Southern Miss 0
In the first match of the day, the Golden Eagles took on host and 12th-ranked Cal Poly Mustangs for an early 9 A.M. first serve.

The Mustangs secured the win against Southern Miss after the completion of flights two, four and one. At flight two, Aleksandra Chudzik and Hallie Phelan made their 2022 pair debut but fell 12-21 in the first set. In set two, the pair's rally was cut short by Cal Poly as they completed the dual with a 21-18 victory.

The familiar pairing of Kai Norman and Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou took the sands as flight No. 4 for the first time this season. The pair led the team in set wins prior to the start of the day with a record of 17-23. Norman/Siakidou fell at the hooves of the Mustangs in straight sets by scores of 14-21 in each.

Cal Poly would seal the match with a victory at the first flight. Breleigh Favre and Kellie Garraway made their 18th-consecutive appearance as the first pairing for the Golden Eagles.

Favre/Garraway played a close set one, failing to complete the comeback rally 19-21 before falling in set two, 10-21.

Despite the match-clinching dual finishing, third pair Olivia Hepworth and Taylor Pierce and fifth flight Wiio Meinheit and Kaylie Beck forced three set decisions by rebounding to take set two.

Beck/Meinheit would finish fourth overall in the match. The dual would be the pair's first in the position and second overall after one dual at the extension against Long Beach State.

The pair exacted an extra point first set victory over the Cal Poly fifth pair by a score of 24-22. In set two, the duo could not prevent the Mustangs run to a 21-15, forcing the pivotal third set. In the rubber set, Beck/Meinheit fell 11-15 as the Mustangs picked up their fourth victory of the match.

Finishing last was third pair Hepworth/Pierce. The pair outlasted Cal Poly in set one to the tune of a 21-19 victory before falling 12-21 in set two. In the third set, the pair, in their ninth consecutive appearance, came up short, 11-15.

Cal Poly moved to 6-7 on the year and would finish 3-0 on the day after beating Houston Baptist 4-1 and No. 18 Pepperdine 3-2, finishing with an 8-7 record overall.

No. 10 Cal 5, Southern Miss 0
Southern Miss returned to the sands of the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex against No. 10 Cal. The Golden Bears entered the match 9-4, fresh off a victory over Boise State in the Cal Poly Tournament.

The Golden Eagles would keep the same lineups at flights 1-3 and five, moving Vanessa Hurnikova and Reagan Sandlin to the fourth flight. The dual would be the pair's first of the season.

Cal's potent offensive ability allowed them to quickly take the first point of the match at flight No. 1. The Favre/Garraway pairing lost in straight sets 17-21, 12-21. Falling soon after was second position pair Chudzik/Phelan by scores of 9-21 and an 18-21 squeaker that allowed the Golden Bears to take a 2-0 lead overall.

New pair Hurnikova/Sandlin fell in two sets by scores of 12-21 in both. Beck/Meinheit also came up short in the fifth flight dual by scores of 11-21 and 12-21.

Southern Miss third flight Hepworth/Phelan pushed the Golden Bears third position to a decisive third set. The pair narrowly lost the opening set in an 18-21 fashion and then rallied to take set two in a 25-23 thriller. The third set saw Hepworth/Phelan fall 13-15 to finalize the match score 5-0 in favor of the Golden Bears.

Cal would go on to defeat No. 18 Pepperdine 4-1 to finish 3-0 on the day and improve to 11-4. Southern Miss dropped to 3-19 before rounding out the Cal Poly Tournament tripleheader.

Santa Clara 3, Southern Miss 2
In the third match of the day, the Golden Eagles took on Santa Clara, who entered with a 4-5 2022 record. The Broncos took on Southern Miss after besting Houston Baptist 3-2 with a 1-0 record at the Cal Poly Tournament.

Southern Miss would keep the same flight pairings at the first, second and third positions. At the fourth position, Carmen Sanchez Delgado and Reagan Sandlin would make their pair debut, also marking Sanchez Delgado's first appearance at the top five flights this season.

Second, Norman/Siakidou returned to the fifth position after resting during the Cal match.

Chudzik/Phelan pushed Santa Clara's No. 2 to a close 19-21 defeat before dropping set two 15-21. The pair finished 0-6 in sets on the day, all at the second position. New pair Sanchez Delgado/Sandlin almost overcame a 14-21 first set setback with a narrow second set defeat, 18-21.

Top-flight pair Favre/Garraway dropped set one 14-21 before going on to lose set two 10-21. The pair also finished 0-6 in sets at the tournament against top competition from other squads.

After the Santa Clara clinched the match, Southern Miss' third and fifth flights would go on to take the first overall points of the day for the Golden Eagles.

Norman/Siakidou dominated their way to a 21-18 opening set win followed by a 21-12 finishing set victory to notch the squad's first dual victory of the day.

Not to be outdone, third flight pair Hepworth/Pierce produced a three-set slugfest that would be the best dual of the day. In set one, the pair cruised to a 21-11 victory but would fail to hold off the Broncos second set rally, falling 19-21. In the third set, Hepworth/Pierce rolled to a 15-7 set and dual victory to pick up the second point of the day.

"Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou and Kai Norman finished off the trip with a win and playing some great volleyball," said Coach Taylor. "It was great to see Taylor Pierce and Olivia Hepworth walk away with a win in their last match as well. They dropped two heartbreakers at the third position earlier in the day so for them to come out and get a win with the tank on empty says a lot about their character."

Up Next
Southern Miss enjoys an off week after completing their 20-game road tour. The Golden Eagles will be back in action at the Southern Miss Beach Volleyball Complex in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 for the 2022 Southern Miss Beach Invitational I.

The six-team tourney will see Chattanooga, Huntingdon, Nicholls, Spring Hill and Texas A&M – Kingsville join the Black & Gold for 13 matches over the two-day tournament. The tournament marks the start of a nine-game homestand for Coach Taylor and crew.

Previewing the competition, Taylor said, "We are looking forward to a weekend off and then hosting the first two weekends in April. It should give us the opportunity to fine tune some things before we head into the final stretch of the regular season."

Admission to all matches at the Southern Miss Beach Invitational I is free to all spectators.

For updates, scores and more, follow Southern Miss Beach Volleyball on Twitter @SouthernMissBVB, on Instagram @southernmissbvb or at SouthernMiss.com. A home page for the tournament can be found in the additional links section on the Beach Volleyball page or on the Beach Volleyball schedule.