Southern Miss Splits Final Day of Sun Belt Mid-Season Tournament

Saturday, March 28

Macon, Ga. / Bear Beach

8 a.m. CT (9 a.m. ET)

Southern Miss

Coastal Carolina

Y-Nhu Do (11) over the net at the Spring Break Slam

Southern Miss Splits Final Day of Sun Belt Mid-Season Tournament

3/28/2026 9:53:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Box Score vs. Coastal Carolina Box Score vs. UNCW

MACON, Ga. – Southern Miss beach volleyball (10-15, 3-1 Sun Belt) wrapped up the Sun Belt Mid-Season Tournament at Bear Beach by splitting its two duals against Coastal Carolina (L, 3-2) and UNCW (W, 4-1). The Chanticleers (15-10, 5-0) slipped past Southern Miss to start the day before the Golden Eagles responded with a dominant showing against UNCW (9-15, 3-3 Sun Belt).

Coastal Carolina 3, Southern Miss 2
Southern Miss opened the afternoon against Coastal Carolina, who entered the competition atop the Sun Belt standings. CCU took the first point at the fours before Jaden White and Margarita Grigoreva tied things, winning 16-14 in the third set of the fives.

Coastal took a 2-1 lead with a 15-10 win in the third set of the threes before Laurel Dennis and Sadie McAda knotted the match again, winning 15-11 in the third. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, the Chanticleers' second position pairing put together back-to-back sets to win the flight and clinch a 3-2 victory for Coastal Carolina.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak by Southern Miss, which tied the all-time program record.

Box Score
1. Laurel Dennis/Sadie McAda (USM) def. Frida Meincke Lyo/Emma Kunaus (CCU) 16-21, 23-21, 15-11
*2. Anna Rita/Madeline Sigmon (CCU) def. Zuzanna Michalska/Abby Lewis (USM) 21-17, 21-12
3. Maya McNabney/Courtney Burnham (CCU) def. Giovanna Gurgel Bahia/Kitija Martini Adamsone (USM) 21-12, 17-21, 15-10
4. Ava Novello/Karis Gordon (CCU) def. Iustina Corcoz/Y-Nhu Do (USM) 21-18, 21-16
5. Jaden White/Margarita Grigoreva (USM) def. Kristyna Koblizkova/Olivia Pippin (CCU) 16-21, 21-18, 16-14
Exh. Ella Wadsworth/Jillian Stein (CCU) def. Lillie Johnson/Ryann Thomas (USM) 21-14, 22-20
Order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 3, 1, 2*

Southern Miss 4, UNCW 1
Southern Miss regrouped after the loss to Coastal Carolina to take on UNCW. The meeting between the Golden Eagles and Seahawks is the first between the two since UNCW knocked Southern Miss out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament a year ago.

UNCW took the first point at the top flight with reigning Sun Belt Pair of the Week Lyvia Trimp and Grace Sistrunk knocking off Dennis and McAda in three sets. The loss is the pair's first since March 14, snapping a seven-game winning streak.

Southern Miss, however, responded quickly and with authority to sweep the remaining four scoring points. Zuzanna Michalska and Abby Lewis overcame a first set defeat to dominate sets two and three, 21-13 and 15-19, respectively, to even up the overall dual.

Giovanna Gurgel Bahia and Kitija Martini Adamsone held on for a two-set victory to give Southern Miss the lead before Iustina Corcoz and Y-Nhu Do clinched the dual for Southern Miss with a 24-22 second set.

Grigoreva and Ryann Thomas added on the fourth point of the dual to give Southern Miss the overall 4-1 victory and seventh overall victory in the last eight games.

Box Score
1. Lyvia Trimp/Grace Sistrunk (UNCW) def. Laurel Dennis/Sadie McAda (USM) 21-18, 20-22, 15-8
*2. Zuzanna Michalska/Abby Lewis (USM) def. Gabby LaPata/Sarah Thompson (UNCW) 17-21, 21-13, 15-9
3. Giovanna Gurgel Bahia/Kitija Martini Adamsone (USM) def. Hannan Parkinson/Alivia Hamel (UNCW) 22-20, 21-18
4. Iustina Corcoz/Y-Nhu Do (USM) def. Alise Barbour/Traci Shrock (UNCW) 21-19, 24-22
5. Margarita Grigoreva/Ryann Thomas (USM) def. Addie Marinack/Courtney Jensen (UNCW) 21-14, 21-16
Exh. Kennan Engebretson/Marissa Vann (UNCW) def. Kenzie Boyd/Brooklyn Bowdler (USM) 21-10, 21-18
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4*, 5, 6

Up Next
Southern Miss takes to the sand next weekend in Tallahassee, Fla., at the FSU Challenge, hosted by Florida State. The Golden Eagles open the tournament on Friday, April 3, at 10:15 a.m. CT (11:15 a.m. ET) against No. 8 Loyola Marymount. Southern Miss will also take on Jacksonville on Friday at 12:45 p.m. CT (1:45 p.m. ET).

The final day of the FSU Challenge is set for Saturday, April 4, and sees Southern Miss take on host No. 5 Florida State at 9 a.m. CT (10 a.m. ET) before closing the weekend with another meeting against Jacksonville at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET).

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