Beach Volleyball Sweeps Opening Day of Hub City Beach Bash

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss beach volleyball marks its best start in program history after sweeping its first three matches at the Southern Miss Beach Volleyball Complex. The Golden Eagles are 3-0 for the first time in the five-year history of the program.

"It was great to see different faces on the other side of the net," said Shawn Taylor, fourth-year head man for the Golden Eagles. "We did a great job of coming out ready to compete at all spots. To only drop one set match over the course of the day against these programs speaks volumes about our growth. Ashlyn Rough and Madison Cassidy did a great job getting us started at the 5s. Ashlyn was making some big digs against Southeastern early which allowed us to convert points in transition. Reagan Sandlin and Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou also did a great job at the 4s of getting us on the board early. Being able to post wins in the 4s and 5s takes a lot of pressure off the rest of our pairs."

Southern Miss 5, Chattanooga 0
The Golden Eagles (3-0) opened the season with a 10 a.m. scrap against Chattanooga. Southern Miss completed a sweep of the Mocs and already had a one-point advantage as UTC forfeited the fifth position due to illness.

The first, second and fourth flights all completed the match in two sets and the third powered past Chattanooga in the third set.

Southern Miss moved to 2-0 all-time against Chattanooga, taking last year's match 3-2.

Box Score
1. Hurnikova,Vanessa/Chudzik,Ola (USM) def. Neva Clark/Joy Courtright (UTC) 21-8, 21-18
2. Pierce,Taylor/Garraway,Kellie (USM) def. Julia Davis/Madi Morris (UTC) 21-15, 21-19
3. Phelan,Hallie/Norman,Kai (USM) def. McKenna Faychak/Grace Frigaard (UTC) 19-21, 23-21, 15-9
4. Sandlin,Reagan/Siakidou,Valeria (USM) def. M. Myers-Osband/Kaye Gresham (UTC) 21-12, 21-19
5. Perry,Morgan/Russell,Dylan (USM) def. No player/No player (UTC) 2-0, 2-0
6. No player/No player (UTC) vs. Rough,Ashlyn/Cassidy,Madison (USM) no result

Southern Miss 4, Spring Hill 1
Spring Hill entered the day leading the all-time series 7-4, but the Golden Eagles resoundingly moved the all-time record to 7-5 after a 4-1 masterpiece against the Sandy Badgers. The Golden Eagles now own a two-game win streak over Spring Hill.

Hallie Phelan and Kai Norman were the only pair to fall but narrowly against the Badgers' third pairing.

Box Score
1. Hurnikova,Vanessa/Chudzik,Ola (USM) def. Kassandra Fairly/Jessica Fairly (SPRSVB) 21-12, 21-14
2. Pierce,Taylor/Garraway,Kellie (USM) def. Mikayla Boyer/Jaylyne Bell (SPRSVB) 21-12, 21-10
3. Kyla Shappell/Linnea Beger (SPRSVB) def. Phelan,Hallie/Norman,Kai (USM) 21-15, 21-14
4. Sandlin,Reagan/Siakidou,Valeria (USM) def. Brooke Borgmeyer/Lily Mascari (SPRSVB) 21-11, 21-17
5. Cassidy,Madison/Rough,Ashlyn (USM) def. Elizabeth Hardouin/Isabella Muti (SPRSVB) 21-13, 21-10
Ext. Russell,Dylan/Perry,Morgan (USM) def. Kristen Mitternight/Irelyn Flynn (SPRSVB) 21-15, 21-16

Southern Miss 5, Southeastern 0
Coach Taylor's bunch moved to 3-0 for the first time in program history after clean-sheeting Southeastern. The game marked the first game against the Lions since 2021 and moved Southern Miss to 4-0 all-time against SLU.

Box Score
1. Hurnikova,Vanessa/Chudzik,Ola (USM) def. Mia McKinney/Jolie Hidalgo (SLU) 21-16, 18-21, 15-8
2. Pierce,Taylor/Garraway,Kellie (USM) def. Eryn Wilks/Jackie McGee (SLU) 21-9, 21-14
3. Phelan,Hallie/Norman,Kai (USM) def. Lauren Schlotzhauer/Meagan Scuderi (SLU) 21-14, 21-16
4. Sandlin,Reagan/Siakidou,Valeria (USM) def. Mabry Ward/Alexis Logarbo (SLU) 21-15, 21-18
5. Cassidy,Madison/Rough,Ashlyn (USM) def. Ysabella Lockwood/Jolie Savoie (SLU) 21-10, 21-9
Ext. Delgado,Csanchez/Meinheit,Wiio (USM) def. Harlee Tupper/Eryn Wilks (SLU) 21-11, 23-25, 15-11

Up Next
Southern Miss is back in action for two games tomorrow, Feb. 26. The first comes against Southeastern in the championship game of the Hub City Beach Bash and the second caps off the weekend with a match against William Carey.

Match time is set for 1 p.m. against Southeastern and 5 p.m. against William Carey. Admission to the Southern Miss Beach Volleyball Complex is free for all matches.

– Twitter: @SouthernMissBVB | SouthernMiss.com | Instagram: @southernmissbvb –

Beach Volleyball Sweeps Opening Day of Hub City Beach Bash

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Players Mentioned

Madison Cassidy

Kai Norman

Hallie Phelan

Ashlyn Rough

Reagan Sandlin

Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou