Volleyball Closes Season in Loss to Arkansas State in Sun Belt Quarterfinals

Friday, November 21

Foley, Ala. / Foley Sports Tourism Complex

1:30 p.m.

Southern Miss

17-12,8-8Sun Belt

(1W) Arkansas State

20-8,12-4Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Arkansas St.

Volleyball Closes Season in Loss to Arkansas State in Sun Belt Quarterfinals

11/21/2025 6:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

FOLEY, Ala. - Southern Miss Volleyball concludes their season during the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament after falling to Arkansas State in three sets. The Golden Eagles finished with an overall 17-12 record.

Southern Miss fell behind early as Georgia State opened on a 5–1 run, but the Golden Eagles broke the streak on a service error before Sadie McAda put down USM's first kill to make it 7–3. Emily Davis entered and added two kills to help steady the offense, and Elly Stewart followed with another to bring the score to 13–6. Brynn Botkin chipped in a kill before forcing an attack error that trimmed the deficit to 14–9, but service errors and a strong Georgia State run kept the Golden Eagles from closing the gap. Stewart and McAda each added late kills, but Southern Miss dropped the opener 25–13.

Southern Miss opened the second set with a kill from Sadie McAda before Stewart and McAda combined for a block to tie it 4–4. McAda followed with another kill, and Stewart added one of her own to even the score at 5–5. McAda later delivered another point to bring the Golden Eagles within 7–7. Wells entered and provided an immediate boost, putting down a kill to tie the frame at 9–9. Durgens then delivered a service ace to give USM its first lead of the set at 10–9. Wells added another kill to make it 11–11, and McAda chipped in again to keep the Golden Eagles within 14–12. Sewell and McAda teamed for a late block that cut the deficit to 23–19, and McAda added another kill to make it 24–20. Despite the late surge, Southern Miss couldn't catch up to the Red Wolves, who take the the frame 25–20.

Southern Miss opened the third set strong, with Durgens delivering a service ace and McAda following with a kill for a 3–0 lead. Wells added a kill to push the margin to 5–1, and Sewell scored out of the middle to make it 6–2. Stewart kept USM in control with another kill for an 8–3 advantage, and Wells later capped a long rally to extend it to 11–3. Zovko added a kill as the Golden Eagles stayed in front 13–5, but Arkansas State responded with a long run that cut the lead to 13–12. Judd stopped the surge with a kill, and Sewell followed with another to push the margin to 16–13. Wells added two more kills as the Golden Eagles maintained a 19–15 lead. Zovko scored again for a 20–16 advantage, and Lewis added a late kill, but Arkansas State rallied to tie it at 24–24. The set moved into extra points, where Arkansas State closed on a short run to take the match 29-27.

The Golden Eagles finished with 35 kills to total a .102 hitting percentage. McAda earned 10 kills and 14 digs, while Botkin and Sunni Sheppard both recorded 11 digs. Both setters Morgen Durgens and Gaby Zovko fueled the offense with 33 assists. Defensively, the team recorded 49 digs and 4 blocks.

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