University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Memphis
Volleyball Travels to Memphis for Rumble at the Roane
9/16/2026 12:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss (8-1) will close out their non-conference slate as they hit the road for Rumble at the Roane in Memphis, Tenn. The Golden Eagles will open the tournament against host Memphis (3-6) at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday before facing Little Rock (6-3) at 6 p.m. on Friday at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
The Golden Eagles enter the tournament with their best start to a season since 2015 after winning eight of their first nine matches. Southern Miss has been led by a balanced offensive attack directed by senior setter Allie Hazelwood, who is averaging a Sun Belt-leading 11.10 assists per set, a mark that ranks among the top 10 nationally. Hazelwood also recorded a career-high 57 assists in Southern Miss' 3-1 victory over Lamar last Thursday.
Senior outside hitter Sadie McAda continues to pace the Golden Eagle offense while approaching a career milestone. McAda enters the week with 959 career kills, putting her just 41 kills away from becoming the latest player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. She also surpassed 1,000 career digs in Southern Miss' victory over Southern on Saturday, 10 matches after teammate Sunni Shappard reached this mark during the 2025 regular season finale.
Southern Miss has received contributions throughout the lineup during its strong start, with Elly Stewart, Aubrey Judd, Diana Wells and Lillie Johnson each providing offensive production while Sunni Sheppard continues to anchor a Golden Eagle defense that is holding opponents to just a .143 hitting percentage (lowest in the SBC).
Last Time Out:
Southern Miss hosted the Southern Miss Invitational last weekend, going 4-0 across four matches at the Wellness Center. The Golden Eagles opened the weekend with a sweep of Houston Christian before earning a 3-1 victory over Lamar. Southern Miss then defeated both Southern and Jackson State in straight sets on Saturday to improve to 8-1 on the season.
Opponent Scout:
Southern Miss will open the Rumble at the Roane against host Memphis on Thursday evening. The Tigers enter the tournament at 3-6 following a 3-1 victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday night. Memphis dropped the opening set, 25-13, before winning the next three sets, 25-18, 25-16 and 30-28. The Tiger have also claimed wins over Louisiana and Alcorn state this season. Memphis is led offensively by Caitlyn Little who averages 3.86 kills per set while Abigail Schlueter leads the defense with 3.57 digs per set.
The Golden Eagles will then face Little Rock on Friday evening to close out the week. The Trojans are coming off a trip to Colorado Springs, Colo. where they played in the Air Force Academy Tournament, suffering losses to Air Force and Idaho State before taking down Tennessee Tech. Little Rock will face Southeast Missouri State tonight in Cape Girardeau, Mo., before traveling to Memphis for Friday's matchup with Southern Miss.
Southern Miss at Memphis will be streamed live on ESPN +, live stats will be provided by stat broadcast for both matches. All links can be found at the following link: smttt.info/RumbleRoan
To keep up with the Golden Eagles, follow our Instagram (@southernmissvball), X (@southernmissvb), and Facebook (Southern Miss Volleyball).
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