Beach Volleyball Splits First Day in Fort Worth

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss posts a 1-1 record on the opening day of the Horned Frogs Invitational, falling 5-0 to No. 4 LSU and sweeping Texas A&M – Kingsville, 5-0.

"LSU did a great job of putting pressure on us this morning," said Golden Eagle head man, Shawn Taylor. "At times we handled it well, other times we were a bit conservative in our play. Top-tier programs like that don't give you many points which forces you to earn them. Madison [Cassidy] and Ashlyn [Rough] played a really nice match and were a couple plays away from coming away in both sets, including the thrilling 31-29 first set lost. The fact that they were able to sideout that well down the stretch is super positive. Valeria [Siakidou Papakyriakou] and Reagan [Sandlin] picked up the first set and were in a good rhythm. They were just outlasted by the LSU pair."

Game One – No. 4 LSU 5, Southern Miss 0
Fourth-ranked LSU moved to 10-0 on the year after sweeping the Golden Eagles, who fell to 6-4 on the season.

Reagan Sandlin and Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou, playing their sixth match of the year at the third flight, managed to push the Tigers to three sets but fell 15-10 in the third.

Ashlyn Rough and Morgan Perry anchored the fifth flight, falling after a hard-fought 31-29 first set. The duo fell in two sets to the Tigers' fifth pairing, losing by just two points in each frame.

Box Score
1. Kylie Deberg / Ellie Shank (LSU) def. Vanessa Hurnikova / Ola Chudzik (USM) 21-10, 21-18
2. Parker Bracken / Grace Seits (LSU) def. Taylor Pierce / Kellie Garraway (USM) 21-13, 21-12
3. Hannah Brister / Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Reagan Sandlin / Valeria Siakidou (USM) 21-18, 13-21, 15-10
4. Ella Larkin / Lara Boos (LSU) def. Hallie Phelan (USM) 21-15, 21-19
5. Cassidy Chambers / Amber Haynes (LSU) def. Ashlyn Rough / Madison Cassidy (USM) 31-29, 21-19
6. Melia Lidner / Paige Flickinger (LSU) def. Dylan Russell / Morgan Perry (USM) 21-14, 21-16

Game Two – Southern Miss 5, Texas A&M – Kingsville 0
"It was important for us to regroup quickly," said Taylor. "Kingsville has been a solid program over the years and I was pleased with how we responded well at all positions and were able to come away with the sweep. Kellie [Garraway] and Taylor [Pierce] really took care of the ball and did great job of earning real points.

The Golden Eagles moved to 7-4 on the year, matching the program wins record set three previous times after sweeping Texas A&M – Kingsville (4-5).

The Javelins stood little match for Southern Miss as the three Golden Eagle pairs swept their counterparts. The remaining two pairs took grabbed their third sets in convincing fashion to earn the team's seventh win of the year.

Box Score
1. Ola Chudzik / Vanessa Hurnikova (USM) def. Madelyn Wallace / Adrienne VanBrunt (TAMUK) 21-15, 21-11
2. Taylor Pierce / Kellie Garraway (USM) def. Rylan Pollard / Rylie Anderson (TAMUK) 21-11, 21-9
3. Reagan Sandlin / Valeria Siakidou (USM) def. Grace Gettys / Olivia Zeigler (TAMUK) 15-21, 21-15, 17-15
4. Hallie Phelan / Kai Norman (USM) def. Megan Stiefer / Kalani Vasquez (TAMUK) 21-17, 21-16
5. Madison Cassidy / Ashlyn Rough (USM) def. Taylor McCarthy / Jackie Alanis (TAMUK) 16-21, 22-20, 15-10
6. C Sanchez Delgado / Wiio Meinheit (USM) def. Caitlin Willson / Delany Evans (TAMUK) 20-22, 21-14, 8-6

Up Next
Southern Miss is back action tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. against the nation's top-ranked team, TCU. The day concludes with a second match against Texas A&M – Kingsville at 2:45 p.m.

"We start off the day with another tough one in top-ranked TCU before finishing the weekend with Kingsville. We'll need to be consistent and aggressive when we take on the host."

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

Beach Volleyball Splits First Day in Fort Worth

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Players Mentioned

Madison Cassidy

Kellie Garraway

Vanessa Hurnikova

Wiio Meinheit

Kai Norman

Morgan Perry

Hallie Phelan

Taylor Pierce

Ashlyn Rough

Dylan Russell

Reagan Sandlin

Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou