Southern Miss is scheduled to play South Alabama in its final home volleyball series of the season, with matches set for Friday and Saturday at the Southern Miss Wellness Center in Hattiesburg.
The teams are scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Friday for Southern Miss’ Season of Giving match. Saturday’s match is listed for 2 p.m., with Senior Day and Girls Day Out activities. Before the match, Southern Miss plans to recognize Sadie McAda, Maggie Sewell, Sunni Sheppard and Lindsey Smith.
The Golden Eagles (15-8, 6-6 Sun Belt) enter the series after splitting two five-set matches at Louisiana. Southern Miss won the opener after losing the first set, taking the deciding set 15-9. McAda had 20 kills and 14 digs, her 16th double-double of the season, and Aubrey Judd posted a career-high 18 kills.
Louisiana won the rematch after Southern Miss rallied from a two-set deficit to force a fifth. The Golden Eagles won the third and fourth sets 25-20 before falling 12-15 in the decider. McAda recorded 15 kills and 23 digs for her 17th double-double, while Judd had 18 kills and hit .531.
Southern Miss clinched a berth in the Sun Belt Conference tournament with its Friday win, according to the team. The tournament is scheduled for Nov. 19-22 in Foley, Alabama. The Golden Eagles are 5-5 in divisional play and fifth in the West, behind Louisiana and South Alabama, which are each 6-4. The teams have their final divisional matches scheduled for this weekend.
South Alabama (11-13, 6-6) comes to Hattiesburg after sweeping ULM at home, winning one match in straight sets and the other in four. Cambria Gaier led the Jaguars with 23 kills across the series, while Dalayla Blackwell averaged 3.14 kills per set. Addison Hurst had a career-high 21 digs in the finale and averaged 5.14 digs per set.
Blackwell ranks third in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage at .364 and fourth in blocks per set at 1.22, Southern Miss said. Her 112 total blocks rank second in the conference, and her 22 solo blocks lead the league. Setter Anabelle Cerny has 14 double-doubles this season.
South Alabama leads the all-time series 38-21 and has won the last six meetings, including both matches in Mobile last season. The Jaguars are 13-13 against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg.
