Friday, April 25
Foley, Ala. / Foley Sports Tourism Sand Volleyball Complex
10 a.m.
Southern Miss
3
vs
2
(7) College of Charleston
Beach Volleyball Falls Out of Sun Belt Championship with Loss to UNCW
4/25/2025 7:16:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
FOLEY, Ala. – Southern Miss (14-24) ground out back-to-back wins in the elimination bracket to set up a rematch against (3) UNCW in the final dual of the day. The Golden Eagles, though, ran out of steam against the Seahawks, falling 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
Both of Southern Miss' wins on the day came in dramatic fashion with the Golden Eagles jumping on College of Charleston early to take the first three matches of the dual. In the second dual of the day, Southern Miss overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win the last three points of the dual to stay alive in the tournament.
Sadie McAda (Pleasanton, Texas) and Laurel Dennis (Gulfport, Miss.) also made history as their match win over Mercer gave them their 22nd win of the season – the most by a pair in school history.
(6) Southern Miss 3, (7) College of Charleston 2
Kitija Martini Adamsone (Marupe, Latvia) and Giovanna Gurgel Bahia (Recife, Brazil) ran out to an early two-set win in their match at the fifth pairing, taking them 21-15 and 21-10. Madison Cassidy (Baton Rouge, La.) and Zuzanna Michalska (Warsaw, Poland) followed them up with the second point of the dual after a clean sheet against the Cougars.
Jessica Fairly (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) and Dylan Russell (Oklahoma City, Okla.) sealed the dual in favor of Southern Miss with two 21-16 sets at the fourth pair. The Cougars managed to salvage the final two points of the dual, taking points at the second and third flights.
Box Score
1 . Cassidy, Madison/Michalska, Zuzanna (USM) 2-0 Duffner, Ella/Jones, Blair (CC) 21-12 21-17
2 . Psotka, Alexa/Hansen, Kora (CC) 2-1 Dennis, Laurel/McAda, Sadie (USM) 21-14 18-21 16-14
3 . Thayse, Cassie/Curry, Elizabeth (CC) 2-0 Sanchez Delgado, Carmen/White, Jaden (USM) 23-21 21-18
4 . Fairly, Jessica/Russell, Dylan (USM) 2-0 Smeltzer, Tynley/Holland, Allie (CC) 21-16 21-16
5 . Martini Adamsone, Kitija/Gurgel Bahia, Giovanna (USM) 2-0 Toscano, Grace/Newberg, Alivia (CC) 21-15 21-10
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4*, 3, 2
(6) Southern Miss 3, (4) Mercer 2
Mercer jumped out to take the first set in all five flights and took the first two points of the dual. The Bears looked to be cruising to the win before Southern Miss' top flight of Cassidy and Michalska overcame a second set deficit to force the third.
On courts two and five, Southern Miss was able to stave off elimination again with Dennis and McAda taking set two 21-11 and Martini/Bahia winning 21-14 in set two. McAda and Dennis made the overall score 2-1 with their 15-12 decision in the third set and cemented themselves in the record books.
Their win put their season record at 22-16 with their 22 match wins setting the new program record for single-season victories. It also fueled the remaining two courts as Southern Miss looked to make the most of their final sets.
On court five, Martini and Bahia raced out to take the lead and held on to a 15-12 decision that evened up the overall score at 2-2. All eyes then turned to the top flight again as Cassidy and Michalska led with less than five points to go.
The duo served and fended off the Bears' first flight to win 15-11 to take the set, match and dual. The win sent Southern Miss to the final match of the day against (3) UNCW.
Box Score
1 . Cassidy, Madison/Michalska, Zuzanna (USM) 2-1 Polychrones, Lexi/Engel, Hollis (Mercer) 14-21 21-18 15-11
2 . Dennis, Laurel/McAda, Sadie (USM) 2-1 Paddock, Jordan/Diaz, Liv (Mercer) 17-21 21-11 15-12
3 . Benson, Sydney/Hardie, Kate (Mercer) 2-0 Sanchez Delgado, Carmen/White, Jaden (USM) 21-17 21-17
4 . O'Mara, Nicole/Corbett, Kathryn (Mercer) 2-0 Fairly, Jessica/Russell, Dylan (USM) 21-13 25-23
5 . Martini Adamsone, Kitija/Gurgel Bahia, Giovanna (USM) 2-1 Hood, Reese/Rathburn, Grace (Mercer) 19-21 21-14 15-12
Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 5, 1*
(3) UNCW 3, (6) Southern Miss 2
The Golden Eagles earned a two-hour rest before returning to the sand for their rematch against UNCW. Southern Miss was playing its third match of the day while UNCW had enjoyed the day off up until that point.
UNCW took the first point of the dual in straight sets at the fifth pair and followed it up with a win at the twos. The Seahawks' second pairing, named the Sun Belt Conference Pair of the Year, earned their 23rd consecutive win and their 28th of the campaign. Dennis and McAda gave all they could before falling 21-18 in the second set.
The Seahawks clinched the dual with a 21-16 second set win over Cassidy/Michalska, sealing their spot in the Championship Saturday early morning game.
However, Southern Miss still had some fight left as the fourth pairing of Fairly/Russell and third pairing of Carmen Sanchez Delgado (Málaga, Spain) and Jaden White (West Palm Beach, Fla.) eaked out wins over the Seahawks.
Fairly/Russell took set one 26-24 before clinching the second 21-14. Delgado and White played to a third set at the threes and won 15-12 in the deciding frame.
Southern Miss' season comes to an end with a 14-25 record. The 2025 squad tied the best performance in the postseason – tying the 2023 squad's performance in Huntsville.
Box Score
1 . LaPata, Gabby/Thompson, Sarah (UNCW) 2-0 Cassidy, Madison/Michalska, Zuzanna (USM) 21-14 21-16
2 . Sistrunk, Grace/Trimp, Lyvia (UNCW) 2-0 Dennis, Laurel/McAda, Sadie (USM) 21-10 21-18
3 . Sanchez Delgado, Carmen/White, Jaden (USM) 2-1 Schrock, Traci/Thompson, Annika (UNCW) 21-19 19-21 15-12
4 . Fairly, Jessica/Russell, Dylan (USM) 2-0 Black, Tamsie/Puhala, Sophia (UNCW) 26-24 21-14
5 . Folks, Maddy/Forbes, Hannah (UNCW) 2-0 Martini Adamsone, Kitija/Gurgel Bahia, Giovanna (USM) 21-16 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 2, 1*, 4, 3
Both of Southern Miss' wins on the day came in dramatic fashion with the Golden Eagles jumping on College of Charleston early to take the first three matches of the dual. In the second dual of the day, Southern Miss overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win the last three points of the dual to stay alive in the tournament.
Sadie McAda (Pleasanton, Texas) and Laurel Dennis (Gulfport, Miss.) also made history as their match win over Mercer gave them their 22nd win of the season – the most by a pair in school history.
(6) Southern Miss 3, (7) College of Charleston 2
Kitija Martini Adamsone (Marupe, Latvia) and Giovanna Gurgel Bahia (Recife, Brazil) ran out to an early two-set win in their match at the fifth pairing, taking them 21-15 and 21-10. Madison Cassidy (Baton Rouge, La.) and Zuzanna Michalska (Warsaw, Poland) followed them up with the second point of the dual after a clean sheet against the Cougars.
Jessica Fairly (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) and Dylan Russell (Oklahoma City, Okla.) sealed the dual in favor of Southern Miss with two 21-16 sets at the fourth pair. The Cougars managed to salvage the final two points of the dual, taking points at the second and third flights.
Box Score
1 . Cassidy, Madison/Michalska, Zuzanna (USM) 2-0 Duffner, Ella/Jones, Blair (CC) 21-12 21-17
2 . Psotka, Alexa/Hansen, Kora (CC) 2-1 Dennis, Laurel/McAda, Sadie (USM) 21-14 18-21 16-14
3 . Thayse, Cassie/Curry, Elizabeth (CC) 2-0 Sanchez Delgado, Carmen/White, Jaden (USM) 23-21 21-18
4 . Fairly, Jessica/Russell, Dylan (USM) 2-0 Smeltzer, Tynley/Holland, Allie (CC) 21-16 21-16
5 . Martini Adamsone, Kitija/Gurgel Bahia, Giovanna (USM) 2-0 Toscano, Grace/Newberg, Alivia (CC) 21-15 21-10
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4*, 3, 2
(6) Southern Miss 3, (4) Mercer 2
Mercer jumped out to take the first set in all five flights and took the first two points of the dual. The Bears looked to be cruising to the win before Southern Miss' top flight of Cassidy and Michalska overcame a second set deficit to force the third.
On courts two and five, Southern Miss was able to stave off elimination again with Dennis and McAda taking set two 21-11 and Martini/Bahia winning 21-14 in set two. McAda and Dennis made the overall score 2-1 with their 15-12 decision in the third set and cemented themselves in the record books.
Their win put their season record at 22-16 with their 22 match wins setting the new program record for single-season victories. It also fueled the remaining two courts as Southern Miss looked to make the most of their final sets.
On court five, Martini and Bahia raced out to take the lead and held on to a 15-12 decision that evened up the overall score at 2-2. All eyes then turned to the top flight again as Cassidy and Michalska led with less than five points to go.
The duo served and fended off the Bears' first flight to win 15-11 to take the set, match and dual. The win sent Southern Miss to the final match of the day against (3) UNCW.
Box Score
1 . Cassidy, Madison/Michalska, Zuzanna (USM) 2-1 Polychrones, Lexi/Engel, Hollis (Mercer) 14-21 21-18 15-11
2 . Dennis, Laurel/McAda, Sadie (USM) 2-1 Paddock, Jordan/Diaz, Liv (Mercer) 17-21 21-11 15-12
3 . Benson, Sydney/Hardie, Kate (Mercer) 2-0 Sanchez Delgado, Carmen/White, Jaden (USM) 21-17 21-17
4 . O'Mara, Nicole/Corbett, Kathryn (Mercer) 2-0 Fairly, Jessica/Russell, Dylan (USM) 21-13 25-23
5 . Martini Adamsone, Kitija/Gurgel Bahia, Giovanna (USM) 2-1 Hood, Reese/Rathburn, Grace (Mercer) 19-21 21-14 15-12
Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 5, 1*
(3) UNCW 3, (6) Southern Miss 2
The Golden Eagles earned a two-hour rest before returning to the sand for their rematch against UNCW. Southern Miss was playing its third match of the day while UNCW had enjoyed the day off up until that point.
UNCW took the first point of the dual in straight sets at the fifth pair and followed it up with a win at the twos. The Seahawks' second pairing, named the Sun Belt Conference Pair of the Year, earned their 23rd consecutive win and their 28th of the campaign. Dennis and McAda gave all they could before falling 21-18 in the second set.
The Seahawks clinched the dual with a 21-16 second set win over Cassidy/Michalska, sealing their spot in the Championship Saturday early morning game.
However, Southern Miss still had some fight left as the fourth pairing of Fairly/Russell and third pairing of Carmen Sanchez Delgado (Málaga, Spain) and Jaden White (West Palm Beach, Fla.) eaked out wins over the Seahawks.
Fairly/Russell took set one 26-24 before clinching the second 21-14. Delgado and White played to a third set at the threes and won 15-12 in the deciding frame.
Southern Miss' season comes to an end with a 14-25 record. The 2025 squad tied the best performance in the postseason – tying the 2023 squad's performance in Huntsville.
Box Score
1 . LaPata, Gabby/Thompson, Sarah (UNCW) 2-0 Cassidy, Madison/Michalska, Zuzanna (USM) 21-14 21-16
2 . Sistrunk, Grace/Trimp, Lyvia (UNCW) 2-0 Dennis, Laurel/McAda, Sadie (USM) 21-10 21-18
3 . Sanchez Delgado, Carmen/White, Jaden (USM) 2-1 Schrock, Traci/Thompson, Annika (UNCW) 21-19 19-21 15-12
4 . Fairly, Jessica/Russell, Dylan (USM) 2-0 Black, Tamsie/Puhala, Sophia (UNCW) 26-24 21-14
5 . Folks, Maddy/Forbes, Hannah (UNCW) 2-0 Martini Adamsone, Kitija/Gurgel Bahia, Giovanna (USM) 21-16 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 2, 1*, 4, 3
– #SMTTT –
Players Mentioned
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