Volleyball Hosts Louisiana in Key Sun Belt West Battle

Thursday, November 2

Southern Miss Wellness Center

6 p.m.

Southern Miss

Louisiana

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Volleyball Hosts Louisiana in Key Sun Belt West Battle

11/1/2023 9:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Game Notes

HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Southern Miss (10-13, 5-7 Sun Belt) returns home for key matches against Sun Belt West Division foe Louisiana (15-11, 6-6 Sun Belt). The Golden Eagles will clash against the Ragin' Cajuns at 6 p.m. in the Wellness Center on Thursday, Nov. 2, and Friday, Nov. 3.

The Golden Eagles are fifth in the West Division with a 5-7 mark in conference play and sit only one game behind Louisiana. With four games remaining in the regular season, Southern Miss' current standing would give the team a first-round bye in the 2023 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship.

The Golden Eagles prepare to play its first games at home after a two-weekend road stretch against Arkansas State and Georgia State. After starting the season 1-8 on the road, including a loss to the Red Wolves to begin the road stand, Southern Miss won its last three games to improve in conference standings.

The team continued its momentum from a dramatic reverse sweep finish in Jonesboro, Ark., on the way to a dominant outing against Georgia State.

The Golden Eagles swept both games, increasing their sweep total to nine games this season. Including Southern Miss' reverse sweep against Arkansas State, all ten of the Golden Eagles' wins this season have been in consecutive sets.

Southern Miss enjoyed an all-around performance in six sets against the Panthers, hitting at .306 and holding Georgia State to a .102 clip. Offensively, Southern Miss had the third most kills and assists last week in the conference and the most service aces per set.

Junior Mia Wesley eclipsed 1,500 career kills in Friday's match, becoming the fourth Golden Eagle ever to reach that mark. She also passed Bridget Files for the ninth most kills in program history, now standing at 1,301 kills in her time as a Golden Eagle.

Southern Miss will host a Christmas toy drive for both matches this week at home; fans who bring a toy to either game will receive free admission. As a part of the week's activities, DJ Kujho will also return to the Wellness Center for Thursday's match.

Southern Miss Quick Hits

Wesley needs 23 more kills to surpass Ashley Mell for the eighth most kills in program history. The Orem, Utah native trails the No. 7 spot by 46 kills.

Libero Megan Harris needs only 25 more digs to reach the milestone of 1,000 career digs. The junior leads all Sun Belt players with 197 digs in conference play and has amassed a total of 312 digs so far this season.

After leading Southern Miss to a reverse sweep against Arkansas State, freshman Franky Panunzio earned consecutive starts at setter for the Golden Eagles last weekend. The Alpharetta, Ga. native recorded her third career double-double with 28 assists and 12 digs Friday and dished out a career-best 37 assists in three sets on Saturday. Her 10.83 assists were the second-best in the conference last week.

Junior Reagan Leinen led the conference with a .636 hitting percentage last weekend, tallying 15 kills on 22 attempts. Junior Cara Atkinson's .462 clip was tied for the fourth-best mark this week, as she added 14 kills on 26 attempts.

Louisiana Quick Hits

Louisiana is led by third-year head coach Kristi Gray, who has compiled a 45-35 record with the Ragin' Cajuns. She led the program to its first appearance in the NIVC Tournament last season.

Two Ragin' Cajuns earned Sun Belt Player of the Week Awards after picking up two wins against ULM last weekend. Junior Mio Yamamoto nabbed Defensive Player of the Week honors and junior setter Siena DeCambra was named Setter of the Week.

Yamamoto totaled 49 digs, averaging a conference-best 6.1 digs per set last week. She finished with 20 or more digs in six of eight matches played in October and ranks seventh in conference play with an average of 4.46 digs per set.

DeCambra tallied 40-plus assists in both games last week for a total of 91 assists and 11.4 assists per set. The junior setter ranks fourth in conference play with 326 total assists for an average of 9.59 assists per set.

As a team, Louisiana sits atop the Sun Belt with 12.39 assists per set, which ranks 53rd in Division One volleyball. Louisiana's 1,214 team assists also is the best in the conference and ranks fifth in the nation.

Series History

Louisiana leads the all-time series 24-14, dating back to 1980. The programs have split their last ten meetings at 5-5.

The two teams met last season in Lafayette, La, on Nov. 3-4, 2022., with the Ragin' Cajuns winning the first match 3-1, and the Golden Eagles taking a five-set battle 3-2.