University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Downs Louisiana in Four Sets
11/2/2023 10:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Southern Miss Volleyball (11-13, 6-7 Sun Belt) won its fourth consecutive match in its return home with a 3-1 victory (31-29, 14-25, 21-25, 21-25) over conference foe Louisiana (15-12, 6-7 Sun Belt).Â
With the win, the Golden Eagles are now tied for the fourth seed with the Ragin' Cajuns in the Sun Belt West Division at 6-7 in conference play, setting up a close race between the two programs with only three games remaining in the regular season.
While Louisiana outhit Southern Miss slightly at .223 to .207 and earned 15 more digs than the Golden Eagles, the margin of error was slim in the contest. The Golden Eagles had seven fewer of the Ragin' Cajuns' 25 attack errors, and they also won the block battle with ten blocks.Â
Coming off of a career performance against Georgia State, freshman setter Franky Panunzio again orchestrated the Southern Miss attack with a career-high 43 assists along with 11 digs for her fourth double-double.Â
The Alpharetta, Ga. native connected with junior Mia Wesley, who was a constant force throughout the match. Wesley tallied a double-double of 21 kills and 12 digs on a season-high 68 attempts.Â
Along with Wesley, junior Cara Atkinson also finished with double-digit kills for the fourth time this season with 11 kills, four digs and three blocks. Sophomore Cailin Demps followed with nine kills, and Ari Barksdale made crucial plays on both sides of the ball with six kills and a game-best five blocks.
Defensively, freshman Sadie McAda played a key part in the game with a career-high 19 digs;Â libero Megan Harris also added 15 digs.
The programs continued where they left off from last year's dramatic five-set battle, battling for the longest set of the season in the opening period. The 30-point set was the longest Southern Miss had played since losing 31-33 in the first set against Stephen F. Austin last season on Sept. 9, 2022.
But this time, Southern Miss prevailed 31-29 against Louisiana, led by a ten-kill performance from Wesley. The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as seven points in the first set, but crawled back and tied the game at 22 apiece.Â
While Louisiana earned a set point, McAda tied the game with her first kill of the match, beginning a back-and-forth affair between both teams. McAda broke the game open with another kill at 30 points, which led to a final attack error, completing the opening set comeback.
Louisiana fired back with complete control of the second set, maintaining a lead through the entire period. The Ragin' Cajuns hit a game-high .417 clip to power ahead to a 24-15 victory and even the game.
Louisiana carried its momentum into the third set by jumping to an early lead, but Southern Miss found its stride with a 6-0 run.Â
The Ragin' Cajuns retook the lead, leading by two points at the media timeout, but junior Reagan Leinen provided a spark out of the break with two kills to tie the set on the way to a takeover from the Golden Eagles. After a block by Barksdale and Izzy Kronenberg, Demps closed the set at 25-21 with two consecutive kills.
Louisiana fought for the opportunity to extend the game to a fifth set, trailing closely in the following set until a pair of aces from Megan Harris started a run for the Black & Gold. Atkinson later joined the attack with a pair of kills and a block with Leinen. Louisiana trimmed the lead down to two points again, but Wesley gave the team a set point with an ace as Demps tallied another and final set-clinching kill.Â
Up Next
Southern Miss looks to move to the fourth seed in the West Division with another match against Louisiana tomorrow at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
With the win, the Golden Eagles are now tied for the fourth seed with the Ragin' Cajuns in the Sun Belt West Division at 6-7 in conference play, setting up a close race between the two programs with only three games remaining in the regular season.
While Louisiana outhit Southern Miss slightly at .223 to .207 and earned 15 more digs than the Golden Eagles, the margin of error was slim in the contest. The Golden Eagles had seven fewer of the Ragin' Cajuns' 25 attack errors, and they also won the block battle with ten blocks.Â
Coming off of a career performance against Georgia State, freshman setter Franky Panunzio again orchestrated the Southern Miss attack with a career-high 43 assists along with 11 digs for her fourth double-double.Â
The Alpharetta, Ga. native connected with junior Mia Wesley, who was a constant force throughout the match. Wesley tallied a double-double of 21 kills and 12 digs on a season-high 68 attempts.Â
Along with Wesley, junior Cara Atkinson also finished with double-digit kills for the fourth time this season with 11 kills, four digs and three blocks. Sophomore Cailin Demps followed with nine kills, and Ari Barksdale made crucial plays on both sides of the ball with six kills and a game-best five blocks.
Defensively, freshman Sadie McAda played a key part in the game with a career-high 19 digs;Â libero Megan Harris also added 15 digs.
The programs continued where they left off from last year's dramatic five-set battle, battling for the longest set of the season in the opening period. The 30-point set was the longest Southern Miss had played since losing 31-33 in the first set against Stephen F. Austin last season on Sept. 9, 2022.
But this time, Southern Miss prevailed 31-29 against Louisiana, led by a ten-kill performance from Wesley. The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as seven points in the first set, but crawled back and tied the game at 22 apiece.Â
While Louisiana earned a set point, McAda tied the game with her first kill of the match, beginning a back-and-forth affair between both teams. McAda broke the game open with another kill at 30 points, which led to a final attack error, completing the opening set comeback.
Louisiana fired back with complete control of the second set, maintaining a lead through the entire period. The Ragin' Cajuns hit a game-high .417 clip to power ahead to a 24-15 victory and even the game.
Louisiana carried its momentum into the third set by jumping to an early lead, but Southern Miss found its stride with a 6-0 run.Â
The Ragin' Cajuns retook the lead, leading by two points at the media timeout, but junior Reagan Leinen provided a spark out of the break with two kills to tie the set on the way to a takeover from the Golden Eagles. After a block by Barksdale and Izzy Kronenberg, Demps closed the set at 25-21 with two consecutive kills.
Louisiana fought for the opportunity to extend the game to a fifth set, trailing closely in the following set until a pair of aces from Megan Harris started a run for the Black & Gold. Atkinson later joined the attack with a pair of kills and a block with Leinen. Louisiana trimmed the lead down to two points again, but Wesley gave the team a set point with an ace as Demps tallied another and final set-clinching kill.Â
Up Next
Southern Miss looks to move to the fourth seed in the West Division with another match against Louisiana tomorrow at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LA
USM
Kills
64
54
Errors
25
18
Attempts
175
174
Hitting %
.223
.207
Points
74.5
71.0
Assists
61
52
Aces
4
7
Blocks
6.5
10
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Episode 5: Forged In Fire
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Episode 4:Forged In Fire
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Volleyball HC Jenny Hazelwood and Junior Mia Wesley- Arkansas State Postgame
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Episode 3: Forged In Fire
Thursday, October 19