Southern Miss Finishes 2-2 at Horned Frogs Challenge

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Beach volleyball sets a new program record for best start after finishing the final day 1-1 at TCU's Horned Frogs Challenge and 2-2 overall. Southern Miss fell 5-0 to No. 1 TCU and concluded the day with a 3-2 decision to earn the team's second victory against Texas A&M - Kingsville.

Game One - No. 1 TCU 5, Southern Miss 0
The Golden Eagles fell to 7-5 on the year after falling to the nation's best team, TCU (11-0). The Horned Frogs swept Southern Miss on all five duals and the exhibition round.

"TCU is a solid program top to bottom," said Golden Eagle head coach, Shawn Taylor. "From their 1s that have been performing well on the world stage all the way down to their 6s. Taylor [Pierce] and Kellie [Garraway] were in both sets late with a chance to win and thought they really played well. That's multiple times that we've been close to pulling off some big pair wins. One of the things we've stressed is the fact that we have to be putting ourselves within reach against these top-tier teams. If we can do that consistently, we will break through."

Garraway and Pierce did play the closest sets against the top-ranked second flight, falling by three and four points in the first and second set, respectively.

Box Score
1. Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno (TCU) def. Hurnikova,Vanessa/Chudzik,Ola (USM) 21-10, 21-6
2. Sutton MacTavish/Ana Vergara (TCU) def. Pierce,Taylor/Garraway,Kellie (USM) 21-18, 21-17
3. Kate Privett/Anhelina Khmil (TCU) def. Sandlin,Reagan/Siakidou,Valeria (USM) 21-14, 21-11
4. Maria Gonzalez/Josie Sek (TCU) def. Phelan,Hallie/Norman,Kai (USM) 21-5, 21-19
5. Rochelle Scott/Hailey Brockett (TCU) def. Rough,Ashlyn/Cassidy,Madison (USM) 21-11, 21-12
Ext. Cameron Guttell/Luana Araco (TCU) def. Delgado,Csanchez/Meinheit,Wiio (USM) 21-17, 21-19

Game Two - Southern Miss 3, Texas A&M - Kingsville 2
Southern Miss' top two pairs combined with its fifth pairing to grab the squad's eighth win of the year.

Ola Chudzik and Vanessa Hurnikova dominated their opponents at the first pairing as did Garraway and Pierce at the second. Ashlyn Rough and Madison Cassidy swept the Javelinas' fifth pair to clinch the victory for Southern Miss.

Texas A&M - Kingsville's only two points came in closely fought third sets.

"Taylor and Kellie played great against Kingsville as well," said Taylor. "Ola and Vanessa also played really clean and smart volleyball against Kingsville. That's a great sign of the growth we're making as a program and as a team."

Box Score
1. Hurnikova,Vanessa/Chudzik,Ola (USM) def. Madelyn Wallace/Adrienne VanBrunt (TAMUK) 21-13, 21-12
2. Pierce,Taylor/Garraway,Kellie (USM) def. Rylan Pollard/Rylie Anderson (TAMUK) 21-15, 21-13
3. Grace Gettys/Olivia Zeigler (TAMUK) def. Sandlin,Reagan/Siakidou,Valeria (USM) 21-19, 12-21, 15-9
4. Meghan Stiefer/Kalani Vasquez (TAMUK) def. Phelan,Hallie/Norman,Kai (USM) 21-13, 18-21, 15-11
5. Rough,Ashlyn/Cassidy,Madison (USM) def. Taylor McCarthy/Jackie Alanis (TAMUK) 21-18, 21-16
Ext. Perry,Morgan/Russell,Dylan (USM) def. Delaney Evans/Caitlin Willson (TAMUK) 21-16, 22-20

Up Next
The Golden Eagles travel west for two days and four matches at Arizona's Arizona Invitational. While in Tucson, Ariz., Southern Miss faces Arizona Christian, Arizona, Cal Poly and Texas A&M - Corpus Christi.

Arizona and Cal Poly are currently receiving votes in the AVCA Poll with the Wildcats claiming the 18th ranking in the country.

On this weekend leading into the next, Taylor said, "We got better this weekend and had players step up. I'm looking forward to a couple of days off before we head to Arizona."

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

Southern Miss Finishes 2-2 at Horned Frogs Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Madison Cassidy

Vanessa Hurnikova

Ashlyn Rough