Friday, August 26
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
3:30 p.m.
Southern Miss
2-0,0-0Sun Belt
3
vs
0
McNeese
0-2,0-0Southland
1
2
3
F
McNeese
25
23
14
0
Southern Miss.
27
25
25
3
Southern Miss Sweeps Opening Day of Crimson Tide Invite
8/26/2022 6:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After opening the day with a 3-0 victory over UTSA, the Golden Eagles stayed hot and earned their second-straight sweep to open the season with a 27-25, 25-23, 25-14 win over McNeese in the second game of the day at Foster Auditorium.
"McNeese was such a scrappy team. Hats off to their new coaching staff have those girls ready to play and compete really hard," Hazelwood said. "I love playing against teams like that, it made us use our depth to our advantage and really pushed us to our limits."
Mia Wesley led the charge on offense once again for the Black and Gold, as the Orem, Utah native capped the day with 14 kills to finish with 30 across the two matches on Friday, but it was the play of Nyanuer Bidet that set the spark for the Golden Eagles in the match.
Bidet returned to the Southern Miss roster after a season away from the sport, and didn't miss a beat in her second match back. The senior tallied seven kills on 13 attempts, to go along with seven blocks, with five of those coming in a big second set at the net for the Anchorage, Alaska product.
"Nyanuer came in and had one heck of a match," Hazelwood said of Bidet's play. "Blocking and attacking, she was a huge piece for us this afternoon. Her style of play is a great contrast to Ari's (Barksdale) and really makes it hard for teams to defend us. It's a huge asset for us."
Defensively, Kenzie Smith and Megan Harris both finished in double figures with 10 digs apiece, with teammates Aliah Giroux and Lindsey Legg right behind them with nine each. Bidet led with the aforementioned seven block assists, as Southern Miss was strong at the night all night, totaling 11.0 total blocks as a squad.
"This team trust in each other," Hazelwood said of the resilience of her team. "They know that they're doing good things. They know that they can execute at a high level. They don't get down on themselves when a point doesn't go their way. It allows them to continue to play great volleyball and not get frustrated when the other team makes a play. Our team showed great maturity for such a young team."
The Golden Eagles conclude opening weekend with a battle against host Alabama at 3 p.m. tomorrow with the match being streamed on SEC Network+.
"McNeese was such a scrappy team. Hats off to their new coaching staff have those girls ready to play and compete really hard," Hazelwood said. "I love playing against teams like that, it made us use our depth to our advantage and really pushed us to our limits."
Mia Wesley led the charge on offense once again for the Black and Gold, as the Orem, Utah native capped the day with 14 kills to finish with 30 across the two matches on Friday, but it was the play of Nyanuer Bidet that set the spark for the Golden Eagles in the match.
Bidet returned to the Southern Miss roster after a season away from the sport, and didn't miss a beat in her second match back. The senior tallied seven kills on 13 attempts, to go along with seven blocks, with five of those coming in a big second set at the net for the Anchorage, Alaska product.
"Nyanuer came in and had one heck of a match," Hazelwood said of Bidet's play. "Blocking and attacking, she was a huge piece for us this afternoon. Her style of play is a great contrast to Ari's (Barksdale) and really makes it hard for teams to defend us. It's a huge asset for us."
Defensively, Kenzie Smith and Megan Harris both finished in double figures with 10 digs apiece, with teammates Aliah Giroux and Lindsey Legg right behind them with nine each. Bidet led with the aforementioned seven block assists, as Southern Miss was strong at the night all night, totaling 11.0 total blocks as a squad.
"This team trust in each other," Hazelwood said of the resilience of her team. "They know that they're doing good things. They know that they can execute at a high level. They don't get down on themselves when a point doesn't go their way. It allows them to continue to play great volleyball and not get frustrated when the other team makes a play. Our team showed great maturity for such a young team."
The Golden Eagles conclude opening weekend with a battle against host Alabama at 3 p.m. tomorrow with the match being streamed on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
McN
USM
Kills
35
42
Errors
20
14
Attempts
111
118
Hitting %
.135
.237
Points
42
58
Assists
32
35
Aces
2
5
Blocks
5
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS/L
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