Friday, September 2
Macon, GA
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
3-1,0-0Sun Belt
3
at
1
Mercer
1-3,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
15
25
25
25
3
Mercer
25
16
21
23
1
Golden Eagles Rallies to Defeat Mercer in Four Sets
9/2/2022 8:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Macon, Ga. – The Southern Miss volleyball team overcame a sluggish start to pick up the program's first road win in two seasons, defeating Mercer, 3-1, on Friday night at Hawkins Arena.
For the fourth time in as many matches, Mia Wesley led all athletes in kills, as the sophomore finished the night with 15 and was joined in double figures by Gillian Hidalgo with 10 kills of her own. Kenzie Smith dished out 40 assists, while Megan Harris led the Golden Eagles defensively with 16 digs.
The Golden Eagles struggled to find a rhythm offensively, swinging to just a .111 hitting percentage in the opening set. Gillian Hidalgo came off the bench and made a quick impact, collecting a trio of kills to end what was a 6-1 run for the Bears to make the score 12-9, but Mercer went on to take the set, 25-15.
After trading points back-and-forth in the second to start, the Black and Gold used a 7-2 push of their own to open up an 18-10 advantage. With the offense coming to life behind 14 kills on 24 attempts, Southern Miss bounced back to tie the match at 1-1, taking set two by a score of 25-16. Freshman Izzy Kronenberg provided the spark in the set with a career-high four kills on just five attempts.
The Golden Eagles came hot out the gate in set three, running to a 5-0 advantage behind a pair of Ari Barksdale kills before Mercer answered and kept it close for the remainder of the set with each team making runs through the rest of set three. A quick 3-0 push with kills from Wesley and Kronenberg pushed Southern Miss back out to a five-point lead at 20-15, but Mercer again answered to draw the set back to just one at 22-21 only for USM to close it three points later with a huge block by Cara Atkinson and Barksdale to push the Golden Eagle lead to two sets to one.
It was more of the same in set four, as the two teams traded 3-0 runs back-and-forth through the majority of the set. Southern Miss used a pair of big blocks at the net by Atkinson and Kenzie Smith followed by Wesley and Barksdale to extend their lead out to 19-15. The Bears clawed their way to tie the frame at 23-all, but senior Lauren Talbert clinched the match from the service line with an ace to give Southern Miss their first road win since defeating LA Tech, 3-1, on Feb. 21, 2021.
Southern Miss closes the Mercer Bears Classic with a pair of matches tomorrow, taking on Charleston Southern at 12 p.m. CT and Queens at 3 p.m. CT.
For the fourth time in as many matches, Mia Wesley led all athletes in kills, as the sophomore finished the night with 15 and was joined in double figures by Gillian Hidalgo with 10 kills of her own. Kenzie Smith dished out 40 assists, while Megan Harris led the Golden Eagles defensively with 16 digs.
The Golden Eagles struggled to find a rhythm offensively, swinging to just a .111 hitting percentage in the opening set. Gillian Hidalgo came off the bench and made a quick impact, collecting a trio of kills to end what was a 6-1 run for the Bears to make the score 12-9, but Mercer went on to take the set, 25-15.
After trading points back-and-forth in the second to start, the Black and Gold used a 7-2 push of their own to open up an 18-10 advantage. With the offense coming to life behind 14 kills on 24 attempts, Southern Miss bounced back to tie the match at 1-1, taking set two by a score of 25-16. Freshman Izzy Kronenberg provided the spark in the set with a career-high four kills on just five attempts.
The Golden Eagles came hot out the gate in set three, running to a 5-0 advantage behind a pair of Ari Barksdale kills before Mercer answered and kept it close for the remainder of the set with each team making runs through the rest of set three. A quick 3-0 push with kills from Wesley and Kronenberg pushed Southern Miss back out to a five-point lead at 20-15, but Mercer again answered to draw the set back to just one at 22-21 only for USM to close it three points later with a huge block by Cara Atkinson and Barksdale to push the Golden Eagle lead to two sets to one.
It was more of the same in set four, as the two teams traded 3-0 runs back-and-forth through the majority of the set. Southern Miss used a pair of big blocks at the net by Atkinson and Kenzie Smith followed by Wesley and Barksdale to extend their lead out to 19-15. The Bears clawed their way to tie the frame at 23-all, but senior Lauren Talbert clinched the match from the service line with an ace to give Southern Miss their first road win since defeating LA Tech, 3-1, on Feb. 21, 2021.
Southern Miss closes the Mercer Bears Classic with a pair of matches tomorrow, taking on Charleston Southern at 12 p.m. CT and Queens at 3 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
USM
Mercer
Kills
49
48
Errors
15
18
Attempts
116
124
Hitting %
.293
.242
Points
61
69.5
Assists
44
41
Aces
6
10
Blocks
6
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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