Volleyball Heads to Jacksonville State Invitational for Three Matches

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss women's volleyball team is off to Jacksonville, Ala. for a two-day, three-match outing at the Jacksonville State Invitational. The Golden Eagles (7-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) will square off against Auburn (8-0, 0-0 SEC), Jacksonville State (10-0, 0-0 ASUN) and Jackson State (1-7, 0-0 SWAC).

Friday
1:30 p.m. vs. Auburn | Live Stats
7 p.m. vs. Jacksonville State | Live Stats | Watch

Saturday
1:30 p.m. vs. Jackson State | Live Stats

The Southern Miss Rundown
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 2-1 weekend and their own Southern Miss Invitational. They got off to a slow start against then-undefeated Stephen F. Austin, dropping the first sets, then storming back to force a fifth set. The Jacks were able to hang on in the fifth set, but Mia Wesley tallied a program-high 31 kills in the match. It tied for the most-ever by a Golden Eagle in a single match and she also added a career-high 18 digs. Southern Miss bounced back on day two with a convincing three-set win against Mississippi Valley in the first match of the day.

In a match that would determine the tournament champions, Southern Miss balled out in a 3-0 sweep against Houston Baptist. The Huskies were 6-0 in sets played on the weekend for running into the red-hot Golden Eagles. Kenzie Smith finished her weekend with Tournament MVP honors and 118 total assists. Against SFA, Cara Atkinson tallied a career-high 15 kills and blocked seven Jacks attacks. Wesley was named to the All-Tournament Team and picked up Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second-straight week. She leads the Sun Belt in total kills 9177), kills per set (5.36) and points per set (6.29). She ranks second nationally in both kills per set and points per set and fourth in total kills.

Scouting the Field
It will be the second-straight week Southern Miss plays a team with the most wins in the NCAA at the time of meeting when they take on Jacksonville State Friday night. Last week, SFA's seven wins led the country, while Jacksonville's State's 10 wins is tied for the most in the country. The Gamecocks own wins against Indiana, Clemson, South Dakota State and Indiana State. Katie Montgomery leads the way for Jacksonville State with a .429 hitting percentage and Lena Kindermann is averaging 3.74 kills per set.

The Tigers also carry an undefeated mark with eight wins to their name. Auburn most recently swept the UAB Tournament with a five-set win against UAB, four-set win against Troy and a sweep against North Florida. Akasha Anderson has a team-high 89 kills and pin hitter Rebekah Rath averages nearly 4.42 kills per set but has only played in four matches. The Tigers have a pair of players with 13 services aces each. Jackson State heads to Jacksonville with one win against Arkansas - Pine Bluff.

Follow Along
- Southern Miss' game against Jacksonville State will air on ESPN+.
- Follow @SouthernMissVB on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates.

Volleyball Heads to Jacksonville State Invitational for Three Matches

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Players Mentioned

Cara Atkinson

Kenzie Smith

Mia Wesley