Wesley Eclipses Career Milestone in Sweep of ULM

Friday, October 6

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5 p.m.

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ULM

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Wesley Eclipses Career Milestone in Sweep of ULM

10/6/2023 8:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Junior Mia Wesley surpassed Sharon Montgomery for the tenth most kills in program history on the way to a Southern Miss sweep against ULM Friday night, placing herself on a list of some of the most decorated Golden Eagles.

Wesley moved onto the list with her team-high 18th kill of the game, giving Southern Miss the go-ahead score late in the third set to secure the team's second straight sweep. The Orem, Utah native has 1,225 kills in her three seasons as a Golden Eagle.

"Coaches and teams will know that, 'okay, this player is good', but then when you have to face somebody like that, she just has every shot, she hits it hard, she'll go short…she is just intentional with so many different swings and shots that she's hitting," head coach Jenny Hazelwood said. "She's super hard to defend, and she is starting to get more into a rhythm, and that's huge. So far this season, she hasn't been where she has been number-wise in the past, but she just kept working. Mia just works, so you can see that she's starting to feel more comfortable, and that has to do a lot with our whole offense as we're all settling in."

Wesley hit a season-high .432 percentage in the process and registered nine digs. Her performance led Southern Miss to another successful outing from the offensive attack, as the team recorded a .321 hitting percentage.

Freshman Sadie McAda recorded a career-high ten kills, and sophomore setter Ella Voorhees racked up 36 assists in three sets with a career-high 13 digs. Defensively, libero Megan Harris paced both teams with 17 digs.

"I really liked the offensive output that we are seeing," Hazelwood said. "We've had some youth in our setting position, and we have been learning each other and how we want to run our offense, so it's been cool that they have been working really hard, and you can see it settling in with all of them even in practice. I think that has really reflected in our offensive numbers."

Southern Miss rallied from a six-point deficit in the opening set as Wesley caught rhythm, firing for nine kills in the period. The Golden Eagles claimed a lead at 18-16 with back-to-back kills from Wesley, sparking a 7-1 run on the way to a final kill by Wesley for a 25-18 set victory.

Both teams competed evenly in the second set, tying the game 15 times with seven lead changes. A pair of blocks by Ari Barksdale capped a run by Southern Miss on the way to a four-point lead that Southern Miss held onto for a 25-21 victory. Barksdale led the team again with three blocks and also added six total kills on a .500 clip. McAda got going in the period, registering four kills.

The Warhawks fought back and forth in the third set until Southern Miss cracked the game open with a 5-0 run, capped by a service ace from Harris. ULM fought back on its own run, narrowing the lead to one point and eventually taking the lead for a set point at 24-23.

Both teams exchanged points, but Wesley gave Southern Miss a set point with her milestone kill, and McAda ended the game with her tenth kill to give the team its seventh sweep of the season. All of the games the Golden Eagles have won this season have been 3-0 victories.

Southern Miss has won eight consecutive games at home, dating back to last season.

Up Next

Southern Miss will defend its homecourt again next weekend against Texas State on Oct. 13-14.