Harris Reaches 1000 Career Digs in Loss Against Louisiana

Friday, November 3

Southern Miss Wellness Center

6 p.m.

Southern Miss

Louisiana

Harris Reaches 1000 Career Digs in Loss Against Louisiana

11/3/2023 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Locked in a stalemate for the fourth seed in the Sun Belt West Division, Louisiana (16-12, 7-6 Sun Belt) regained a one-match advantage over Southern Miss (11-14, 6-7 Sun Belt) with a 3-0 victory (22-25), (20-25), (23-25) against the Golden Eagles Friday night.

Despite the loss that snapped a four-game winning streak, a pair of Golden Eagles reached historic markers in the match.

Junior libero Megan Harris became just the 18th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs, reaching the milestone in the second set. Harris was a bright spot for the team, registering 18 digs. The Nesbit, Miss. native has recorded 15 or more digs in 14 matches this season and leads all players in digs per set in conference play.

Junior Mia Wesley also surpassed Ashley Mell for the eighth most kills in program history. The Orem, Utah native tallied a team-high 11 kills in the match and now has 1,333 kills in her three seasons with the Black & Gold. She trails the next ranking on the leaderboards by only 14 kills.

While Southern Miss capitalized on a slim differential in the first match against Louisiana Thursday, the Ragin' Cajuns won the battle Friday night by closing out each set strong.

Still, the average point differential was only around three points as Southern Miss contested each set. Louisiana slightly outhit Southern Miss at .209 to .191 but pushed ahead with nine more kills than the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss exchanged leads with the Ragin' Cajuns eight times in the opening set, but a 5-1 run put Louisiana ahead 22-19. The Golden Eagles could not close the gap as a final kill by Shyia Richardson ended the set 25-22.

Southern Miss looked to rebound in the following set, jumping to an early start with a pair of kills from Wesley. Again, Louisiana tied the game, starting a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. The Ragin' Cajuns gained the lead on a Southern Miss service error and extended its lead on a 5-1 run.

After three kills by Celeste Darling, Louisiana led by six points, its largest lead in the match. Despite a solo block from Reagan Leinen, the Ragin' Cajuns closed the set at 25-20.

Southern Miss promised to extend play by tying the third set late after trailing by four points. But as the previous two sets played out, Louisiana scored the next three of four points, ending the game at 25-23 after a final attack error from Southern Miss.

Cara Atkinson followed Wesley's total with eight kills on a .353 clip with four digs and two blocks. Junior Ari Barksdale added five kills and a pair of blocks. Freshman setter Franky Panunzio assisted on a team-high three blocks with 26 assists.

With Louisiana splitting this season's series with the Golden Eagles, the programs have evenly split its last 12 matches 6-6.

Up Next

Southern Miss will close out the regular season at home against Old Dominion on Nov. 10-11. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.