Southern Miss is scheduled to play a two-match Sun Belt series at Louisiana, with the teams set to meet at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at E.K. Long Gym in Lafayette, Louisiana. The Golden Eagles entered the series at 14-7 overall and 5-5 in conference play, while Louisiana was 11-12 and 6-4.
Southern Miss comes off two home losses to Arkansas State. The Golden Eagles fell in five sets in Thursday’s opener after rallying from a two-set deficit, then lost in three sets Friday.
In the opener, Southern Miss recorded season highs of 89 digs and 59 kills. Elly Stewart led with a season-best 17 kills and 21.5 points. Sadie McAda had 10 kills and 15 digs for her seventh consecutive double-double, and Allie Hazelwood finished with 43 assists. Arkansas State won the deciding set 15-12.
McAda led Southern Miss with six kills and 13 digs in Friday’s match, while Emily Davis added five kills. The Golden Eagles managed 21 kills. They committed 18 service errors and 36 attack errors in Thursday’s match.
Through the first five weeks of Sun Belt play, Southern Miss ranked first in digs per set at 17.88, second in assists at 12.41, and fourth in both kills at 13.34 and aces at 1.63.
Louisiana split its recent road series at App State, winning the opener in four sets before losing in three sets Saturday. App State held the Ragin’ Cajuns to a season-low .096 hitting percentage in the loss. Lolo Lambert leads Louisiana with 3.35 kills per set, followed by Sarah Schnell at 2.87. Rhyan Miciotto and Ryleigh Garis average 5.80 and 4.13 assists per set, respectively. Kennedy Gustafson leads the team with 3.95 digs per set, while Emily Williams and Lindsey Henry average 1.10 and 0.88 blocks.
Southern Miss trails Louisiana 15-27 in the all-time series but has won the last three meetings. The Golden Eagles swept last season’s home series, winning in straight sets Oct. 10, 2025, and 3-1 the following day.
