University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, April 2
Beach Volleyball Complex
2:30 PM
Southern Miss
2
vs
3
Spring Hill
Beach Volleyball Splits Two Matches to Finish First Home Tournament of the Year
4/2/2022 9:06:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss splits two matches to finish the Southern Miss Beach Invitational 4-1.
"I am real proud of the event we were able to put on," said head coach Shawn Taylor. "We got a ton of help from across campus and around the community and it speaks volumes for the growth of beach volleyball at Southern Miss. Our fan base was strong throughout the weekend. I really felt like we could have walked away 2-0 today and 5-0 on the weekend, although we continue to see glimpses of great things. When we start believing we can, we will. We are looking forward to hosting next weekend and honoring our players that are finishing their careers."
Spring Hill 3, Southern Miss 2
The Golden Eagles' first match of the day came against familiar foe, Spring Hill. The Badgers and Black & Gold had squared off nine times prior today's match marking the tenth meeting. Spring Hill holds the all-time advantage over the Southern Miss, 6-3.
Seven of the matches against the Badgers have come as one-point decisions, with the last six all finishing as such. Today's match against the Mobile Badgers was on different.
Southern Miss quickly dispatched the Badgers' exhibition pair thanks to a 21-15 and 21-13 performance form Carmen Sanchez Delgado and Melanie Miller. This would be the pair's first outing together at the exhibition flight.
Finishing second on the day was the fourth position battle fought by Hallie Phelan and Reagan Sandlin. The duo rallied in the first set to push it to extra points before falling short 22-24.
Phelan/Sandlin would then jump to an early lead over the Badger fours before falling 15-21 to lose the set and match.
Rounding out first wave play was fifth pair Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou and Kai Norman. The pair would take set one after slowing extending their lead over the Badgers in a 21-17 decision. The Badger fifth position pair would then complete a comeback to take the second set 21-19 over the Golden Eagles.
In the pivotal rubber set, which would go on to represent the deciding match between the two squads, Siakidou/Norman fell after pushing Spring Hill to extra points. The pair's 15-17 loss would give the Badgers their second of the day.
Heading into the second wave, Southern Miss needed to sweep all three matches and got off to a good start.
Both Golden Eagle second and third positions got off to hot starts and never looked back. On court two, Vanessa Hurnikova and Kellie Garraway muscled their way to their third victory at the second position with scores of 21-18 and 24-22.
Southern Miss would even the score to two apiece after Taylor Pierce and Olivia Hepworth took two sets from the Badgers third position by scores of 21-14 and 21-19.
As the third position match concluded, all attention shifted to center court at the Southern Miss Beach Volleyball Complex as the top flights of each squad were locked in battle.
Newfound first pair Breleigh Favre and Aleksandra entered the day 2-1 after their first matches together in the first day of the tournament.
The pair pushed the first set to extra points, marking the third time sets would go over against the Badgers. Favre/Chudzik would narrowly fall 25-27 in the first.
In the second set, Southern Miss needed to force a pivotal third set in order to take the match and dual from Spring Hill.
Favre/Chudzik battled with the Badgers' ones but were unable to circumvent the powerful Spring Hill pair. Southern Miss would lose the set 17-21 and the match overall as Spring Hill took the seventh one-score game in the series and extended their all-time lead over the Golden Eagles to four games.
Southern Miss 5, Texas A&M – Kingsville 0
Having little time to rest and recover from the close loss, Southern Miss immediately followed up its match with Spring Hill with a dual against the Javelinas of Texas A&M – Kingsville.
The two squads previously met in 2022 at LSU's Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge, La.
Southern Miss was able to take its second series victory over the Javelinas by a 4-1 decision and looked to make in three wins and zero losses against TAMUK in their second match of the day.
The Golden Eagles would maintain the same lineup as the previous game, changing only the exhibition by pairing Carmen Sanchez Delgado with Wiio Meinheit.
Fifth pair Siakidou/Norman took the first point of the game from the Javelinas as they cruised to a two set, 21-16 and 21-15, victory over their opponents.
The Sanchez/Meinheit pair would follow to finish second overall in the match, falling in three sets after taking the first. The pair's21-16, 14-21 and 10-15 decisions would be the only time Southern Miss did not take a match from Kingsville.
Fourth position duo Sandlin/Phelan needed three sets to take down their foes on the other side of the net. The first set was a wakeup call for the Golden Eagle duo as they fell 12-21. Needing to take back-to-back sets to take the point, the pair did just that, winning the second and third sets by scores of 21-17 and 15-7, respectively.
Entering the second wave of play, Southern Miss enjoyed a two-score advantage and needed just one match point to secure the dual victory.
The Golden Eagles would get that and much more as all three second wave pairs secured points, winning the overall match 5-0 over TAMUK.
Pierce/Hepworth would remain at the third flight and take down their Javelina adversaries in two sets, 21-11 and 21-17.
Both the first and second flights would need three sets to finish off Texas A&M – Kingsville as the Javelinas were playing for more than just pride having lost the match overall.
Favre/Chudzik would rally to take sets two and three by scores of 21-18 and 17-15, respectively, after dropping the first set 15-21.
Finishing almost simultaneously with the top-flight, No. 2 position Hurnikova/Garraway took the final two sets by razor-thin margins. The pair would fall 21-23 in set one before winning 24-22 and 15-13 in sets two and three, respectively.
The court two victory would secure the victory for Southern Miss as the squad would break out their brooms to sweep the Javelinas back to Kingsville, Texas.
Up Next
Southern Miss remains in Hattiesburg next weekend for the team's second tournament of the season, the Southern Miss Beach Invitational II. Matches start at 8:30 a.m. on both Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9.
On Friday, Southern Miss faces ULM at 8:30 a.m. and Central Arkansas at 4:30 p.m. The following day, the Black & Gold form a night-cap quasi-doubleheader to take on Spring Hill and Tulane in back-to-back matches scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
Admission to all matches is, as always, free. For updates, scores and more, follow Southern Miss Beach Volleyball on Twitter @SouthernMissBVB, on Instagram @southernmissbvb or at SouthernMiss.com.
Spring Hill College 3, Southern Miss 2
1. Kassandra Fairly/Jessica Fairly (SPRSVB) def. Breleigh Favre/Aleksandra Chudzik (USM) 27-25, 21-17
2. Vanessa Hurnikova/Kellie Garraway (USM) def. Natalie Bonner/Mikayla Boyer (SPRSVB) 21-18, 24-22
3. Taylor Pierce/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Leanne Sorrel/Kyla Shappell (SPRSVB) 21-14, 21-19
4. Brooke Borgmeyer/Linnea Beger (SPRSVB) def. Hallie Phelan/Reagan Sandlin (USM) 24-22, 21-15
5. Emily Weinzapfel/BrileyJane Becker (SPRSVB) def. Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou/Kai Norman (USM) 17-21, 21-19, 17-15
Ext. Carmen Sanchez Delgado/Melanie Miller (USM) def. Courtney Faulkner/Kristen Mitternight (SPRSVB) 21-15, 21-13
Southern Miss 5, Texas A&M-Kingsville 0
1. Breleigh Favre/Aleksandra Chudzik (USM) def. Tenley Housler/Jackie Alanis (TAMUK) 15-21, 21-18, 17-15
2. Vanessa Hurnikova/Kellie Garraway (USM) def. Lexi Ahrens/Adrienne Van Brunt (TAMUK) 21-23, 24-22, 15-13
3. Taylor Pierce/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Madelyn Wallace/Rylie Anderson (TAMUK) 21-11, 21-17
4. Reagan Sandlin/Hallie Phelan (USM) def. Meghan Merlino/Roxanne Morris (TAMUK) 12-21, 21-17, 15-7
5. Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou/Kai Norman (USM) def. Grace Gettys/Christina Gragasin (TAMUK) 21-16, 21-15
Ext. Caitlin Willson/Kapri Pelle (TAMUK) def. Carmen Sanchez Delgado/Wiio Meinheit (USM) 16-21, 21-14, 15-10
"I am real proud of the event we were able to put on," said head coach Shawn Taylor. "We got a ton of help from across campus and around the community and it speaks volumes for the growth of beach volleyball at Southern Miss. Our fan base was strong throughout the weekend. I really felt like we could have walked away 2-0 today and 5-0 on the weekend, although we continue to see glimpses of great things. When we start believing we can, we will. We are looking forward to hosting next weekend and honoring our players that are finishing their careers."
Spring Hill 3, Southern Miss 2
The Golden Eagles' first match of the day came against familiar foe, Spring Hill. The Badgers and Black & Gold had squared off nine times prior today's match marking the tenth meeting. Spring Hill holds the all-time advantage over the Southern Miss, 6-3.
Seven of the matches against the Badgers have come as one-point decisions, with the last six all finishing as such. Today's match against the Mobile Badgers was on different.
Southern Miss quickly dispatched the Badgers' exhibition pair thanks to a 21-15 and 21-13 performance form Carmen Sanchez Delgado and Melanie Miller. This would be the pair's first outing together at the exhibition flight.
Finishing second on the day was the fourth position battle fought by Hallie Phelan and Reagan Sandlin. The duo rallied in the first set to push it to extra points before falling short 22-24.
Phelan/Sandlin would then jump to an early lead over the Badger fours before falling 15-21 to lose the set and match.
Rounding out first wave play was fifth pair Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou and Kai Norman. The pair would take set one after slowing extending their lead over the Badgers in a 21-17 decision. The Badger fifth position pair would then complete a comeback to take the second set 21-19 over the Golden Eagles.
In the pivotal rubber set, which would go on to represent the deciding match between the two squads, Siakidou/Norman fell after pushing Spring Hill to extra points. The pair's 15-17 loss would give the Badgers their second of the day.
Heading into the second wave, Southern Miss needed to sweep all three matches and got off to a good start.
Both Golden Eagle second and third positions got off to hot starts and never looked back. On court two, Vanessa Hurnikova and Kellie Garraway muscled their way to their third victory at the second position with scores of 21-18 and 24-22.
Southern Miss would even the score to two apiece after Taylor Pierce and Olivia Hepworth took two sets from the Badgers third position by scores of 21-14 and 21-19.
As the third position match concluded, all attention shifted to center court at the Southern Miss Beach Volleyball Complex as the top flights of each squad were locked in battle.
Newfound first pair Breleigh Favre and Aleksandra entered the day 2-1 after their first matches together in the first day of the tournament.
The pair pushed the first set to extra points, marking the third time sets would go over against the Badgers. Favre/Chudzik would narrowly fall 25-27 in the first.
In the second set, Southern Miss needed to force a pivotal third set in order to take the match and dual from Spring Hill.
Favre/Chudzik battled with the Badgers' ones but were unable to circumvent the powerful Spring Hill pair. Southern Miss would lose the set 17-21 and the match overall as Spring Hill took the seventh one-score game in the series and extended their all-time lead over the Golden Eagles to four games.
Southern Miss 5, Texas A&M – Kingsville 0
Having little time to rest and recover from the close loss, Southern Miss immediately followed up its match with Spring Hill with a dual against the Javelinas of Texas A&M – Kingsville.
The two squads previously met in 2022 at LSU's Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge, La.
Southern Miss was able to take its second series victory over the Javelinas by a 4-1 decision and looked to make in three wins and zero losses against TAMUK in their second match of the day.
The Golden Eagles would maintain the same lineup as the previous game, changing only the exhibition by pairing Carmen Sanchez Delgado with Wiio Meinheit.
Fifth pair Siakidou/Norman took the first point of the game from the Javelinas as they cruised to a two set, 21-16 and 21-15, victory over their opponents.
The Sanchez/Meinheit pair would follow to finish second overall in the match, falling in three sets after taking the first. The pair's21-16, 14-21 and 10-15 decisions would be the only time Southern Miss did not take a match from Kingsville.
Fourth position duo Sandlin/Phelan needed three sets to take down their foes on the other side of the net. The first set was a wakeup call for the Golden Eagle duo as they fell 12-21. Needing to take back-to-back sets to take the point, the pair did just that, winning the second and third sets by scores of 21-17 and 15-7, respectively.
Entering the second wave of play, Southern Miss enjoyed a two-score advantage and needed just one match point to secure the dual victory.
The Golden Eagles would get that and much more as all three second wave pairs secured points, winning the overall match 5-0 over TAMUK.
Pierce/Hepworth would remain at the third flight and take down their Javelina adversaries in two sets, 21-11 and 21-17.
Both the first and second flights would need three sets to finish off Texas A&M – Kingsville as the Javelinas were playing for more than just pride having lost the match overall.
Favre/Chudzik would rally to take sets two and three by scores of 21-18 and 17-15, respectively, after dropping the first set 15-21.
Finishing almost simultaneously with the top-flight, No. 2 position Hurnikova/Garraway took the final two sets by razor-thin margins. The pair would fall 21-23 in set one before winning 24-22 and 15-13 in sets two and three, respectively.
The court two victory would secure the victory for Southern Miss as the squad would break out their brooms to sweep the Javelinas back to Kingsville, Texas.
Up Next
Southern Miss remains in Hattiesburg next weekend for the team's second tournament of the season, the Southern Miss Beach Invitational II. Matches start at 8:30 a.m. on both Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9.
On Friday, Southern Miss faces ULM at 8:30 a.m. and Central Arkansas at 4:30 p.m. The following day, the Black & Gold form a night-cap quasi-doubleheader to take on Spring Hill and Tulane in back-to-back matches scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
Admission to all matches is, as always, free. For updates, scores and more, follow Southern Miss Beach Volleyball on Twitter @SouthernMissBVB, on Instagram @southernmissbvb or at SouthernMiss.com.
Spring Hill College 3, Southern Miss 2
1. Kassandra Fairly/Jessica Fairly (SPRSVB) def. Breleigh Favre/Aleksandra Chudzik (USM) 27-25, 21-17
2. Vanessa Hurnikova/Kellie Garraway (USM) def. Natalie Bonner/Mikayla Boyer (SPRSVB) 21-18, 24-22
3. Taylor Pierce/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Leanne Sorrel/Kyla Shappell (SPRSVB) 21-14, 21-19
4. Brooke Borgmeyer/Linnea Beger (SPRSVB) def. Hallie Phelan/Reagan Sandlin (USM) 24-22, 21-15
5. Emily Weinzapfel/BrileyJane Becker (SPRSVB) def. Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou/Kai Norman (USM) 17-21, 21-19, 17-15
Ext. Carmen Sanchez Delgado/Melanie Miller (USM) def. Courtney Faulkner/Kristen Mitternight (SPRSVB) 21-15, 21-13
Southern Miss 5, Texas A&M-Kingsville 0
1. Breleigh Favre/Aleksandra Chudzik (USM) def. Tenley Housler/Jackie Alanis (TAMUK) 15-21, 21-18, 17-15
2. Vanessa Hurnikova/Kellie Garraway (USM) def. Lexi Ahrens/Adrienne Van Brunt (TAMUK) 21-23, 24-22, 15-13
3. Taylor Pierce/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Madelyn Wallace/Rylie Anderson (TAMUK) 21-11, 21-17
4. Reagan Sandlin/Hallie Phelan (USM) def. Meghan Merlino/Roxanne Morris (TAMUK) 12-21, 21-17, 15-7
5. Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou/Kai Norman (USM) def. Grace Gettys/Christina Gragasin (TAMUK) 21-16, 21-15
Ext. Caitlin Willson/Kapri Pelle (TAMUK) def. Carmen Sanchez Delgado/Wiio Meinheit (USM) 16-21, 21-14, 15-10
Players Mentioned
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