Beach Volleyball Finishes 2022 Season in a Saturday Tulane Twin Bill

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss travels to New Orleans for a doubleheader against familiar foe Tulane for the third and fourth matches against the Green Wave in 2022 and final two matches of the season before the Conference USA Tournament.

"We've played Tulane tight twice now, just haven't been able to squeeze out a victory," said head coach Shawn Taylor. "We've worked hard and spent time on some things that should help us earn some more points. This is our last opportunity to get better against someone else prior to conference tournament starting and would be great to conclude our regular season with a couple of wins and build momentum going into conference."

Last Time Out
The Black & Gold last hit the sands in Tucson, Ariz. at Arizona's Bear Down Beach in the Arizona Invitational. Coach Shawn Taylor's squad faced two top-20 teams in their four-game tour of the Grand Canyon State.

On Friday, April 15, Southern Miss played its 10th and 11th overall matches against ranked opponents in 2022. The Golden Eagles kicked off the Arizona Invitational against host and 17th-ranked Arizona.

The Sand Cats entered 15-8 and would finish the weekend 3-1, only falling to No. 7 Grand Canyon in the final match of the tournament. Southern Miss would contribute to the Wildcats' impressive weekend by falling 0-5 at the hands of the hosts.

Next up, Southern Miss looked to take a rematch against No. 11 Long Beach State. Previously this season, the Beach bested the Eagles of the 'Burg 5-0 at the Malibu Invite.

In the second meeting of the two squads, Southern Miss would improve, taking one set thanks to No. 5 pair Carmen Sanchez Delgado and Kai Norman winning in three sets. Despite this improvement, the Golden Eagles would go on to lose 1-4, falling to 0-2 at the tournament. The Beach finished 2-2 after defeating Stephen F. Austin and Southern Miss, later falling to No. 17 Arizona and No. 7 Grand Canyon.

The Golden Eagles' concluded desert play with two matches on Saturday, April 16. The first match came against the Ladyjacks of Stephen F. Austin. The match was taken by a hair-thin margin by SFA in a 3-2 decision.

Southern Miss took points at the second and third flights thanks to Vanessa Hurnikova & Kellie Garraway and Taylor Pierce & Olivia Hepworth.

The final match of the tournament would be against new foe Cal State Bakersfield. CSUB was previously ranked 20th just two weeks ago and marked another in a long line of highly touted opponents.

Undeterred by previous rankings, Southern Miss clipped the Roadrunners' wings in a 3-2 victory—the program's first against an opponent currently receiving votes.

Hepworth/Pierce would again win at the threes, now joined by fourth pair Hallie Phelan and Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou and top flight Breleigh Favre and Aleksandra Chudzik. The match-deciding set would be played by the top pair, coming down to a 15-10 third set to secure the win for the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss returned home after finishing 1-3 in Arizona and now 11-22 (1-3 C-USA) on the year.

Meet the Matchup
The Golden Eagles and Green Wave need no introductions. The weekend twin bill will be the 10th and 11th overall matches between the two programs and the third and fourth in 2022 alone.

Southern Miss, after tying it's record for wins in a regular season set in 2019, looks to claim its first win against rival Tulane. In 2022, Tulane has twice escaped in 3-2 decisions, once in Baton Rouge, La. and most recently in Hattiesburg.

These two matches are the closest Southern Miss has come to victory over the Green Wave in its nine tries.

The Saturday doubleheader could result in two monumental achievements for the Golden Eagle. Just one win will set a record for most victories in one season and also represent the growth of the program by finally defeating Tulane.

The first match is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT in Elmwood, La.'s White Sands Beach Volleyball. Match two is to follow at 12:45 p.m. Admission to events at White Sands will be free.

For updates, scores and more, follow Southern Miss Beach Volleyball on Twitter @SouthernMissBVB, Instagram @southernmissbvb or at SouthernMiss.com.

Beach Volleyball Finishes 2022 Season in a Saturday Tulane Twin Bill

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Players Mentioned

Ola Chudzik

Breleigh Favre

Kellie Garraway

Olivia Hepworth

Vanessa Hurnikova

Kai Norman

Hallie Phelan

Taylor Pierce

Carmen Sanchez Delgado

Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou