Southern Miss defeated South Alabama 25-19, 25-23, 25-16 on Saturday in Hattiesburg, earning a split of the teams’ final home series of the season. The Golden Eagles improved to 16-9 overall and 7-7 in Sun Belt play, while the Jaguars fell to 12-14 and 7-7.
Sadie McAda led all players with 16 kills and added 10 digs and a solo block for her 19th double-double of the season. Allie Hazelwood had 37 assists and 10 digs, recording her ninth double-double and reaching 1,000 assists for the season. Sunni Sheppard led Southern Miss with 19 digs, and Diana Wells contributed 11 kills.
Southern Miss seized control of the opening set with a 12-1 run, turning a 5-3 lead into a 15-6 advantage. McAda had four kills in the stretch, and Sheppard added an ace. South Alabama closed the gap to four, but the Golden Eagles rebuilt their lead and took the set 25-19.
The Jaguars drew within two points in the second set, but Southern Miss held on. Wells had consecutive kills to put the Golden Eagles ahead 23-19, and a Lillie Johnson kill set up a 25-23 finish. In the third, McAda helped fuel an early five-point run with three kills and a solo block. Southern Miss extended its lead through the set, and Wells delivered the final kill at 25-16.
The Golden Eagles finished with 47 kills to South Alabama’s 35 and 63 digs to the Jaguars’ 56. Southern Miss also had a 6-0 advantage in service aces and hit .205, while South Alabama hit .181. The victory was Southern Miss’ first home sweep in conference play this season and its first sweep since Oct. 15 at ULM.
South Alabama won Friday’s opener 3-1, with set scores of 26-24, 26-24, 23-25 and 25-22. The Jaguars’ win was their first over Southern Miss since 2022. The Golden Eagles finished 6-6 in the Sun Belt’s West Division.
Southern Miss’ regular-season schedule was set to conclude with a two-match trip to face Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia. The series was listed for Thursday, Nov. 12, and Friday, Nov. 13.
