Volleyball's Comeback Attempt Falls Short Against Marshall in SBC Tournament

Thursday, November 16

Foley, Ala. / Foley Sports Tourism Complex

7 p.m.

Southern Miss

12-16,7-9Sun Belt

Marshall University

13-18,4-12Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Marshall

Volleyball's Comeback Attempt Falls Short Against Marshall in SBC Tournament

11/16/2023 11:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

FOLEY, Ala.-Despite a record-setting performance from Mia Wesley and a season-high 74 team kills, Southern Miss' attempt at a reverse sweep fell just short in five sets (23-25, 24-26, 25-15, 25-23, 11-15) against Marshall in the second round of the Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament in Foley, Ala.Thursday night.

After falling down two sets from late comebacks by Marshall, Southern Miss laid everything on the line on its way to forcing a fifth set. While the Golden Eagles had the momentum going into the deciding set, a pair of runs from Marshall helped snap the program's six-game losing streak and eliminate Southern Miss from the tournament.

Wesley led the team in a historical effort, as the Orem, Utah native tied her record for most kills in a match in program history with 31 kills. She reached 30 kills at the end of the fourth set, marking a Sun Belt Tournament record for most kills in four sets, while also breaking a career-high and Sun Belt Tournament record set in 1993 with 88 attempts.

Wesley finished the match with 31 kills on a .273 clip, a match-high five service aces and 15 digs.

Libero Megan Harris also set a career-high of 35 digs and Atkinson produced a season-high 15 kills.

In the first set, the Golden Eagles jumped to an early lead on a 5-0 run, to which Marshall responded and gained an advantage at 11-10. Southern Miss reached 15 points first on two straight kills from Wesley, and then reached a 23-20 lead. However, the Herd launched a decisive 5-0 run to steal the opening set.

The second set played out to the same result, as the Golden Eagles held a 23-20 lead, but Marshall retook the lead and won 26-24 on a service ace after a few exchanges.

A two-set deficit did not stop Southern Miss as the team fired off to an early lead with a kill and an ace from Wesley. The Golden Eagles' lead grew after three Marshall service errors, setting up Southern Miss' largest lead of the game. Ari Barksdale notched a pair of kills to extend the lead and Wesley gave the team set point with two more kills, leading to a final kill by Atkinson for a ten-point set victory.

Atkinson and Leinen also made an impact up front early in the game, finishing the third set with six blocks each.

Southern Miss carried its success into the fourth set, catapulting a 4-0 run in response to two early points from Marshall. While the Thundering Herd retook the lead on two straight blocks, the Golden Eagles fought back, starting a back-and-forth affair between the two teams with 16 ties and seven lead changes.

With the set tied at 22, Barksdale and Wesley ignited a spark with a block. Wesley added a kill for set point and a Marshall attack error ended the period at 25-23.

Southern Miss looked to complete its second reverse sweep of the season, as three early kills from Barksdale and an ace from Wesley forced a Marshall timeout at 5-3. The Thundering Herd responded out of the break, stealing the momentum on an 8-3 run, forcing a timeout.

Leinen added a kill, but Marshall pushed ahead to thwart the comeback, ending the game on a kill at 15-11.

Leinen's ten kills were the third-most on the team, and Barksdale neared double-digits on an efficient nine kills on 14 attempts. Setter Franky Panunzio led the team with 37 assists, while also adding 14 digs, and Ella Voorhees added 21 assists as well.