Three Golden Eagles Named to C-USA Beach Volleyball All-Academic Team

DALLAS – Breleigh Favre, Olivia Hepworth and Hallie Phelan received C-USA All-Academic Team honors, Conference USA announced today. The Southern Miss trio ties Georgia State for the most athletes named to the list.

"One of the things we have stressed as we continue to build this program is that we will not sacrifice when it comes to character or academics," said Southern Miss head man Shawn Taylor. "Bre, Liv, and Hallie have set a high bar for themselves and their teammates in the classroom and continue to exemplify the kind of student athletes we are striving to be."

Breleigh Favre
The Hattiesburg, Miss. native looks to finish her fourth and final year with Southern Miss. Favre has played for Golden Eagle Beach Volleyball since its inception in 2019, lettering each eligible season.

In 2022, Favre has not missed a match, playing in all 35 as one of the Golden Eagles' top duos. The Golden Eagle Graduate notched her 110th appearance on Saturday, April 23 in the second of two matches against Tulane.

As one half of the Golden Eagles' No. 1 pairing, Favre has seen time with Kellie Garraway and Aleksandra Chudzik, with Chudzik moving up to the first position in April.

Favre ranks fourth all-time in program wins, currently sporting 36 in her career, 11 in 2022.

Prior to her recognition as a member of the 2022 All-Academic Team, Favre has been named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll four-consecutive seasons.

She currently sports a 4.0 GPA in her Master of Science in Kinesiology (Exercise Science) program in the College of Education and Human Sciences. After graduation from Southern Miss, Favre looks to enroll in Baylor University's Physical Therapy program to pursue her doctorate.

Olivia Hepworth
Hepworth hails from Gulf Breeze, Fla. and currently holds a spotless GPA in pursuit of her Master's of Business Administration from the College of Business and Economic Development.

While securing her 4.0 GPA, the Graduate Golden Eagle made history earlier this season. During the Golden Eagle Invitational, she secured her spot in history and took the top spot in all-time program wins.

Since taking the top spot, Hepworth has continued her success, finishing the 2022 regular season with 14 wins to push her to 44 overall wins in her tenure on the sands of Hattiesburg.

Of Hepworth's 35 matches this season, all but one have been at the third position. In her 34 starts at the three, she has seen time with fellow All-Academic teammate Hallie Phelan (5-6) and Taylor Pierce (8-15).

In her one match away from the No. 3 flight, she paired with Phelan once more at the second position, defeating Huntingdon in two sets en route to a 5-0 victory.

Like Favre, Hepworth also closes out her Golden Eagle career as a four-time member of the Beach Volleyball Golden Eagles. Against Tulane on April 23, Hepworth took the court for the 110th and 111th matches of her career, again leading the Golden Eagles' program in career matches.

Hepworth is also a four-time member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, two-time member of The University of Southern Mississippi's President's List. She also received a the C-USA Academic Medal in 2021 and 2022.

After graduation from Southern Miss, Hepworth looks to begin a career as a missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). She and her fellow missionaries will travel to Ave Maria, Fla. for training this summer before being assigned to a university campus.

She is the daughter of Randy and Kim Hepworth.

Hallie Phelan
Rounding out the Southern Miss selections of the All-Academic Team is Junior, Hallie Phelan.

Phelan, a Madison, Miss. native, majors in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science in the College of Education and Human Sciences. In her three-year undergraduate career, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA while logging 76 matches on the sand.

In 2022, Phelan saw a career high in matches played prior to the start of the postseason, recording 35 matches across the second, third and fourth positions.

Phelan began the season at the third position, playing nine matches with Olivia Hepworth, going 3-6, but taking points over Tulane and UAB.

She then moved to flight No. 4, playing eight matches alongside Reagan Sandlin, going 2-2 against unraked opponents, but falling in four-straight matches to top-ranked competition.

Phelan then moved up to the Golden Eagles' second position with Aleksandra Chudzik for three matches at the Cal Poly Tournament.

On April 1, she returned to the third position with Hepworth, going 2-0 before playing her last match at the second flight with Hepworth, defeating Huntingdon.

Phelan has since played 12 consecutive matches at the fourth position to close out 2022. Splitting them by playing six with Reagan Sandlin and six with Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou, each duo finishing 3-3 and 1-5, respectively.

In addition to this season's All-Academic Team Honors, Phelan has also been named to the President's List four times, the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll thrice. Along with those honors, she also received the C-USA Academic Medal in 2021 and 2022.

Phelan looks to return to Hattiesburg next season for her senior season.

She is the daughter of Jim and Stephanie Phelan.

Full 2022 C-USA Beach Volleyball All-Academic First Team

Southern Miss (3)
Breleigh Favre, Gr., 4.0 GPA, Kinesiology (Exercise Science) MS
Olivia Hepworth, Gr., 4.0 GPA, Business Administration MBA
Hallie Phelan, Jr., 4.0 GPA, Kinesiology (Exercise Science) BS

Georgia State (3)
Maddy Delmonte, Sr., 4.10 GPA, Exercise Science Master's
Bella Ferary, So., 3.83 GPA, Criminal Justice with a legal track concentration
Becky Tresham, 3.87 GPA, Exercise Science

FIU (2)
Paige Kalkhoff, So., 3.98 GPA, Rehab and Recreational Therapy
Emily Meyer, So., 3.98 GPA, Rehab and Recreational Therapy

UAB (2)
Ella Alexander, Jr., 3.86 GPA, Biomedical Sciences
Rachel Tam, Sr., 4.0 GPA, Biomedical Sciences

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Three Golden Eagles Named to C-USA Beach Volleyball All-Academic Team

Players Mentioned

Ola Chudzik

Breleigh Favre

Kellie Garraway

Olivia Hepworth

Hallie Phelan

Taylor Pierce

Reagan Sandlin

Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics