Friday, September 15
Memphis, Tenn. / Larry O. Finch Center
10 a.m.
Southern Miss
vs
Little Rock
Southern Miss Prepares for Beale Street Challenge
9/14/2023 8:30:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-After winning both games in the Golden Eagle Classic, Southern Miss (3-5, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference) heads back on the road to compete in the Beale Street Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. on Sept. 15-16.Â
Southern Miss swept Nicholls and Mississippi Valley State last weekend to open its home slate, improving its winning streak in the Wellness Center to six games.Â
Southern Miss enjoyed its best offensive performances of the season at the Golden Eagle Classic, posting a Sun Belt-high .329 hitting percentage, 15.17 kills per set and 13.33 assists per set. The Golden Eagles also led the conference this weekend in opponent hitting percentage, limiting Nicholls and Mississippi Valley State to a combined .056 clip.
Multiple Golden Eagles led the conference offensively, including freshmen Torrey Tkach and Sadie McAda, who recorded the league's highest hitting percentages. Junior Mia Wesley led the Sun Belt in kills per set with 18 kills in three sets versus Nicholls.
Now, Southern Miss looks to carry its momentum on the road in the Beale Street Challenge, where the team will renew series with familiar opponents. The Golden Eagles face Memphis for the first time since 2015, and meet Arizona State for only the second time in program history after losing to the Sun Devils in 2011. Southern Miss also hopes to extend its three-game winning streak against Little Rock, with the last win coming from a match in 2018.
Southern Miss Schedule
Friday
10 AM- Southern Miss vs. Little Rock
6 PM- Southern Miss vs. Memphis (ESPN+)
Saturday
10 AM-Southern Miss vs. Arizona State
Looking at the Competition
Little Rock (3-5)
- Little Rock won every game at the Louisiana Tech Invitational last weekend, including victories against Grambling, Louisiana Tech and Lamar.Â
- Little Rock is led by Van Compton, who is in her 36th season as the head coach of the Trojans. Compton has recorded a 563-481 overall record at Little Rock and has led the Trojans to four regular season Sun Belt Conference championships, five tournament championships, six postseason appearances and five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Trojans have hit .110 this season, while holding opponents to a .191 hitting percentage.
Memphis (3-6)
- Memphis picked up a five-set victory against FIU last weekend at the Husky Invitational in Seattle, Wash., but lost in straight sets to UNLV and Washington.
- Memphis is led by Sean Burdette, who is in his sixth season with the program.
- The Tigers' win against FIU on Friday snapped a six-game losing streak.
- Memphis was picked to finish first in the American Athletic Conference East Division.
Arizona State (9-0)
- Arizona State is led by first-year head coach JJ Van Neil, who came to the program as an associate head coach at USC.
- The Sun Devils have started the 2023 campaign undefeated at 9-0, which is tied for the fourth-best start in program history. Arizona State is unranked but received 13 total votes this week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
- Arizona State swept three teams in the Lumberjack Classic, including Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles begin conference play next weekend in Mobile, Ala. against South Alabama on Sept. 21-22. The Jaguars were picked to win the Sun Belt West Division and have started the season with a 7-2 record.
Follow @SouthernMissVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates.
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Players Mentioned
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