Thursday, April 27
Huntsville, Ala. / John Hunt Sand Volleyball Complex
1:30 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
(3) Coastal Carolina
Beach Volleyball Earns All-Conference Laurels; Looks to Sun Belt Conference Tournament
4/26/2023 11:00:00 AM | Beach Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss beach volleyball's Ola Chudzik and Vanessa Hurnikova earned First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors from the league's eight head coaches. The pair's honor is the first First Team honor in program history and first postseason award since 2021.
"It's exciting to get our first regular-season All-Conference awards," said fourth-year head coach Shawn Taylor. "This is a credit not only to Ola and Vanessa, but to the team. It's a sign of the growth we've made as a program. I feel like Ola and Vanessa have really played high-level volleyball and have remained consistent throughout the season."
Chudzik (Olsztyn, Poland) and Hurnikova (Ostrava, Czech Republic) own an 18-17 record as the Golden Eagles' top pairing, the second-best single-season mark by any pair in program history, trailing Kylie Grandy and Abbey Wilson's 2021 21-16 mark, which included four postseason tournament matches.
Both sophomores, Chudzik and Hurnikova own a 23-29 career record as a pair after a 5-12 performance at the second position last season.
The duo's 23 career victories ranks second by any Golden Eagle pair, again trailing only Grandy and Wilson's 29.
Chudzik and Hurnikova continue on in Southern Miss' historic 2023 season in which the Black & Gold set a new single season wins record with 15 in the regular season.
The Golden Eagles open Sun Belt Conference Tournament play tomorrow, April 27.
Previewing the Tournament
Southern Miss earned the sixth-overall seed for the conference tournament and open play against third-seeded Coastal Carolina on Thursday, April 27, at 1:30 p.m.
"We're excited to participate in the first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship, and to be a part of the inaugural event," said Taylor. "It's a tough draw with Coastal Carolina. They're a team that has been playing great this year and that has developed a history of being in or just around the AVCA's top 20 poll. With that being said, I think we're a great team and capable of competing with anyone in the field. The beauty of the Sun Belt is that there is a lot of parity, and you have to be ready to play everyone that steps on the other side of the net. We've had people hitting on different cylinders at different times and if we can get everything in tune, it should be a great week for the Golden Eagles.
The meeting between the Golden Eagles and Chanticleers is the first time Southern Miss faces off against a fellow Sun Belt program, although the game will not count as a conference contest.
Taylor's group last met the Chanticleers in 2021, falling 3-2 in Columbia, S.C. Southern Miss is 0-3 all-time against Coastal Carolina.
All tournament matches will be played in Huntsville, Ala. at the John Hunt Sand Volleyball Complex.
Follow Along
The Sun Belt Conference will provide streams of each match with commentary by Noah Frary on ESPN+. Links to all Southern Miss matches can be found on the beach volleyball schedule at SouthernMiss.com.
A full list of Sun Belt Conference award winners and tournament information is listed below.
2023 Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Awards
Pair of the Year: Angel Ferary / Bella Ferary, Georgia State
Freshman of the Year: Gabby LaPata, UNCW
Newcomer of the Year: Lila Bordis, Georgia State
Coach of the Year: Beth Van Fleet, Georgia State
All-Sun Belt Conference
First Team
Angel Ferary / Bella Ferary, Georgia State
Gabi Bailey / Kyra Thompson, College of Charleston
Sarlota Svobodova / Madie Lichty, Coastal Carolina
Bri Hagerty / Ashley Thompson, UNCW
Vanessa Hurnikova / Ola Chudzik, Southern Miss
Second Team
Maria Zweig / Ella Reames, College of Charleston
Lila Bordis / Yasmin Kuck, Georgia State
Madison Allred / Raychel Ehlers, Coastal Carolina
Maddy Delmonte / Ayla Johnson, Georgia State
Avery Reynolds / Claire Williamson, ULM
Gabby LaPata / Sadie Sharkey, UNCW
Julia Blazek / Kaitlyn Nowak, ULM
2023 Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Seeding
1. Georgia State
2. Charleston
3. Coastal Carolina
4. UNCW
5. ULM
6. Southern Miss
7. Mercer
8. Stephen F. Austin
2023 Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Championship
Thursday, April 27
Match 1 – No. 1 Georgia State vs. No. 8 Stephen F. Austin – 9 a.m. CT
Match 2 – No. 4 UNCW vs. No. 5 ULM – 10:30 a.m. CT
Match 3 – No. 2 Charleston vs. No. 7 Mercer – 12 p.m. CT
Match 4 – No. 3 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 6 Southern Miss – 1:30 p.m. CT
Match 5 – Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 – 3 p.m. CT
Match 6 – Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 – 4:30 p.m. CT
Friday, April 28
Match 7 – Loser Match 1 vs. Loser Match 2 – 9 a.m. CT
Match 8 – Loser Match 3 vs. Loser Match 4 – 10:30 a.m. CT
Match 9 – Loser Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7 – 12 p.m. CT
Match 10 – Loser Match 5 vs. Winner Match 8 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Match 11 – Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 – 3 p.m. CT
Match 12 – Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10 – 4:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 29
Match 13 – Loser Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12 – 10 a.m. CT
Match 14 (Championship) – Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 13 - 1 p.m. CT
"It's exciting to get our first regular-season All-Conference awards," said fourth-year head coach Shawn Taylor. "This is a credit not only to Ola and Vanessa, but to the team. It's a sign of the growth we've made as a program. I feel like Ola and Vanessa have really played high-level volleyball and have remained consistent throughout the season."
Chudzik (Olsztyn, Poland) and Hurnikova (Ostrava, Czech Republic) own an 18-17 record as the Golden Eagles' top pairing, the second-best single-season mark by any pair in program history, trailing Kylie Grandy and Abbey Wilson's 2021 21-16 mark, which included four postseason tournament matches.
Both sophomores, Chudzik and Hurnikova own a 23-29 career record as a pair after a 5-12 performance at the second position last season.
The duo's 23 career victories ranks second by any Golden Eagle pair, again trailing only Grandy and Wilson's 29.
Chudzik and Hurnikova continue on in Southern Miss' historic 2023 season in which the Black & Gold set a new single season wins record with 15 in the regular season.
The Golden Eagles open Sun Belt Conference Tournament play tomorrow, April 27.
Previewing the Tournament
Southern Miss earned the sixth-overall seed for the conference tournament and open play against third-seeded Coastal Carolina on Thursday, April 27, at 1:30 p.m.
"We're excited to participate in the first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship, and to be a part of the inaugural event," said Taylor. "It's a tough draw with Coastal Carolina. They're a team that has been playing great this year and that has developed a history of being in or just around the AVCA's top 20 poll. With that being said, I think we're a great team and capable of competing with anyone in the field. The beauty of the Sun Belt is that there is a lot of parity, and you have to be ready to play everyone that steps on the other side of the net. We've had people hitting on different cylinders at different times and if we can get everything in tune, it should be a great week for the Golden Eagles.
The meeting between the Golden Eagles and Chanticleers is the first time Southern Miss faces off against a fellow Sun Belt program, although the game will not count as a conference contest.
Taylor's group last met the Chanticleers in 2021, falling 3-2 in Columbia, S.C. Southern Miss is 0-3 all-time against Coastal Carolina.
All tournament matches will be played in Huntsville, Ala. at the John Hunt Sand Volleyball Complex.
Follow Along
The Sun Belt Conference will provide streams of each match with commentary by Noah Frary on ESPN+. Links to all Southern Miss matches can be found on the beach volleyball schedule at SouthernMiss.com.
A full list of Sun Belt Conference award winners and tournament information is listed below.
2023 Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Awards
Pair of the Year: Angel Ferary / Bella Ferary, Georgia State
Freshman of the Year: Gabby LaPata, UNCW
Newcomer of the Year: Lila Bordis, Georgia State
Coach of the Year: Beth Van Fleet, Georgia State
All-Sun Belt Conference
First Team
Angel Ferary / Bella Ferary, Georgia State
Gabi Bailey / Kyra Thompson, College of Charleston
Sarlota Svobodova / Madie Lichty, Coastal Carolina
Bri Hagerty / Ashley Thompson, UNCW
Vanessa Hurnikova / Ola Chudzik, Southern Miss
Second Team
Maria Zweig / Ella Reames, College of Charleston
Lila Bordis / Yasmin Kuck, Georgia State
Madison Allred / Raychel Ehlers, Coastal Carolina
Maddy Delmonte / Ayla Johnson, Georgia State
Avery Reynolds / Claire Williamson, ULM
Gabby LaPata / Sadie Sharkey, UNCW
Julia Blazek / Kaitlyn Nowak, ULM
2023 Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Seeding
1. Georgia State
2. Charleston
3. Coastal Carolina
4. UNCW
5. ULM
6. Southern Miss
7. Mercer
8. Stephen F. Austin
2023 Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Championship
Thursday, April 27
Match 1 – No. 1 Georgia State vs. No. 8 Stephen F. Austin – 9 a.m. CT
Match 2 – No. 4 UNCW vs. No. 5 ULM – 10:30 a.m. CT
Match 3 – No. 2 Charleston vs. No. 7 Mercer – 12 p.m. CT
Match 4 – No. 3 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 6 Southern Miss – 1:30 p.m. CT
Match 5 – Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 – 3 p.m. CT
Match 6 – Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 – 4:30 p.m. CT
Friday, April 28
Match 7 – Loser Match 1 vs. Loser Match 2 – 9 a.m. CT
Match 8 – Loser Match 3 vs. Loser Match 4 – 10:30 a.m. CT
Match 9 – Loser Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7 – 12 p.m. CT
Match 10 – Loser Match 5 vs. Winner Match 8 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Match 11 – Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 – 3 p.m. CT
Match 12 – Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10 – 4:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 29
Match 13 – Loser Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12 – 10 a.m. CT
Match 14 (Championship) – Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 13 - 1 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
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